Appeal
by Lethe Seraph
Summary: joukai When creating some things, real experience is necessary. Kaiba embarks upon a treacherous path. Jou's smarter than he's given credit for. And Mokuba, well... 13: It's only a matter of time until they find each other.
1. Suggestion

**Notes:**

_I would like to personally apologize for any out-of-character-ness or technical/plot-related errors contained within this fanfiction, and to offer you my regret that it could not have been better. Kindly contact me via review or e-mail so as to inform me whether you enjoyed – oh, heck._

_PLZ REVEW THX! __J I WILL GIVE U CHIBBI PLUSHIE!_

* * *

He strode briskly into the spacious room, hardly allowing a greeting before speaking. "Report."

"Yes, sir. Uh…" A man only slightly older than him coughed nervously. It was his first week on this particular staff, and it showed. "Our results have come in, sir."

"That's why I asked for a report," said Kaiba in a slow, dangerous voice.

He had no time for fools.

Quickly, the young man's superior took charge. "Sir, we've been slipping as of late."

"In which areas?"

"All. Basically, sir…" He smiled. "Everyone who had wanted a Duel Disk or accompanying software…"

"…_has _it," finished the younger employee. "Sir, we need to create something _new_, to appeal to a new set of interests – w-with your approval, of course."

Kaiba sat forward in his chair, propping his chin on his hands. "And what do you propose 'we' do?"

"Well, sir…" The older man had taken grasp of the conversation again, pushing up a pair of round glasses. "We have noticed that there is a particular … _demographic_ … that has, until now, hardly been targeted by the gaming industry."

"The demographic?"

"Teenage females, sir."

A small hiss of breath. "And what sort of game do you believe would draw their interest?" Kaiba had his suspicions, but was loath to admit them.

"Studies show that… um… well…"

"Most are fascinated by…"

"Attractive homosexual males," chorused the two, putting their heads in their hands.

* * *

**_Appeal_**

****

**_One: Suggestion_**

****

****

* * *

A dating simulation.

How had the great Seto Kaiba been forced to lower himself to creating _this_?

Admittedly, it was by choice – he wouldn't let an opportunity to advance KaibaCorp far beyond the reach of its few competitors pass easily – but it was still quite embarrassing to have to work on. This was for two main reasons:

Firstly, he had hardly any idea of how _real _romances worked, having only picked up the basics from classic literature. And, even then, they were heterosexual romances. Was there a difference?

Secondly, what would happen when the press got hold of it?

He would worry about the latter when the time came; however, the former was far more pressing. If he were to create a dating sim focused on matchmaking boys, it wouldn't be a novice hack job. Each and every choice, every reaction to every action, had to be believable. What would work? What wouldn't? How could he make the 'plot', what plot there was, be captivating enough to keep the players wishing for more?

What did he need?

One. Knowledge of the workings of homosexual relationships, vital to creating a plausible plot.

Two. Attractive males. Characters pretty enough to catch potential buyers' interest.

Three. A choice of gaming system. Would it be a multiple-platform release? Would he create his own system specifically for the games, or would the added cost drive buyers away? What was the average cost that they would be able or willing to pay?

Four. Good music. But that could wait.

How would he go about this?

First things first.

There were still things that even the great Seto Kaiba had yet to learn.

* * *

His first stop had been a nearby bookstore. Having disguised himself with readily available sunglasses, hat, and jacket that did not protrude three feet from his rear, Kaiba had entered and proceeded to pick up any titles that caught his notice. For variety as well as visual aid, he added a few prominent comic books to his steadily growing stack. Other customers watched him in awe as he made his way to the counter, gliding effortlessly across the floor even under thirty-plus volumes varying in size.

"Do you have a Regular Reader card, sir?" asked the cashier, scanning Kaiba's books and raising an eyebrow ever-so-slightly at the recurrent subject matter apparent of the books.

"No," said Kaiba. "I don't shop here regularly."

"I… see," was the cashier's confused reply. "Have a nice day."

"You too."

Kaiba grasped the bags and made his way out as smoothly as he had come.

* * *

He drew his pale hand through brown bangs idly as he read, muttering to himself and occasionally jotting down notes. Two piles of books lay to either side of him, one considerably larger than the other; he had worked his way through more than half of them in short time. Upon finishing a particularly thick volume, Kaiba took a moment to sigh audibly before reaching for the next.

It was one of the comic books.

"FAKE," he read to himself, writing down the name with one hand as he flipped it open with the other. "New York policemen…? Let's see if it's any good…"

A half hour later found Seto Kaiba quickly snapping the book shut and going to get a cold drink.

That was why, after several more hours in which he examined various psychological studies and romantic novels, Kaiba was considerably wary of opening the next comic that he chanced to pick up. Very wary. Kaiba wondered whether he should read it near an open flame just in case.

But, no, he did not condone the burning of books. He flipped to the first page, a sense of vague uneasiness and apprehension growing within him.

It was called _Gravitation_? That did not bode well. Kaiba wondered exactly what was doing the gravitating, before he decided that he didn't want to know just yet.

"So, it's a story about a would-be rock idol…?" he mumbled a few pages in, still taking notes.

"A rock idol? Sounds cool! What'cha reading?" interrupted his younger brother, bouncing into the den – Kaiba's designated 'office'.

Kaiba twitched, closing the book before Mokuba could look over his shoulder. "Reference material."

"For what? Are you developing a new game?" Mokuba's eyes lit in excitement. "Will I get to test it?"

"…Maybe…" said Kaiba noncommittally.

"So all of these books are reference? 'A Study of Homosexu…'" The young boy paused. "Uh, Seto? What kind of game…"

"One that you might not want to play," interrupted Kaiba. After a moment in which Mokuba looked as though his world had been turned upside down, Seto added, "Some members of the staff suggested the idea to me."

"Oh."

"What time is it? Are you hungry?" said Kaiba, in an attempt to shift the topic to more familiar ground. It succeeded.

"Uh, it's seven thirty. Can we have pizza? Can we?"

"You had pizza last night."

"But _you _didn't. You didn't eat at all. Come _on_, Seto. Eat with me. Eat _pizza _with me. Please?"

He sighed. "All right. Go and order it. No olives, though."

"Darn. I was _so_ hoping for olives…"

Kaiba smiled. "The sooner you call…"

"Right! I'm on it!" And, with that, Mokuba had dashed back out of the den.

Kaiba opened to the page he had been on and resumed reading.

* * *

Midnight.

He had, as promised, eaten dinner with Mokuba, even suffering through the child's choice of sitcom. Following that, though, he had gone back to his research.

Midnight, and he had finally blown his way through every book.

What should he do next?

_2.) Attractive males._

Pfft. He had himself as a reference.

So, moving on …

A plot might help.

However, he still wasn't quite sure how to go about it. After all, books still could be different from the real thing.

…The real thing.

Kaiba was beginning to get an idea, but he didn't like it.

At all.


	2. Decision

**Notes:**

_Wow! Was it the 'PLZ REVEW', or what? Many more people reviewed than I had expected. Thank you all very, very much. You made my day! I hope to make yours. Man, it'll be hard to live up to that first chapter. _

**Five Replies:**

A special shout out to **MotherCHOWGoddess**, for her comments on Kaiba's preferences regarding pizza, as well as her great suggestions. Thank you, **MotherCHOWGoddess**. I was tempted not to update, so as to be written into your Ryou x Seto as you threatened, but … I rather wanted to see how this would turn out.

**PanDora: **YES. SHUICHI IS GANG RAPED. But it's worth reading just to get to the fifth volume, which makes up for everything. It's awesome. And volumes six and seven are even better. scary grin

**Obscured Illusions**: sweatdrop The 'good things' I'm not so sure about, but as to that other part - how do I find time to write them? Uh, I don't. I … make it. end cliché phrase

**Haruya: **I just bought the latest Gravitation myself. I had to start reading it right away, in the mall, and kept on bursting into hysterical (and very audible) laughter … people were looking at me funny. I agree with **Cody Saoyrn**, though – Shuichi's head on the cover of that volume is incredibly large. It's rather disturbing.

**Darkmus: **Oh, it'll be very educational and interesting. Especially, if I get my way, for Jou. smirk

_Exercise your rights! Click the Review button! _

* * *

_**Appeal**_

_**Two: Decision**_

* * *

****

_It's for the good of KaibaCorp, _he told himself again, rubbing his temples. _For the good of KaibaCorp.__ It would be nothing personal._

If he did, though, surely someone would notice. What would happen then? He would have to tell the media outlets ahead of time that he was creating a … dating simulation … and they would never keep that under wraps. No, they would report it, and then the idea he had in mind would be doomed to fail anyway.

Couldn't he think of a better idea?

No. This was the best idea. He knew it, and his gut feeling was hardly ever wrong. First-hand experience was always the most educational.

He rubbed harder. How many white hairs would he have by the time this was over?

_It's for the good of KaibaCorp. _

He hoped that it wouldn't turn out like the time his 'gut feeling' had told him that there was no problem with keeping the Big Five employed.

"Mokuba, I need to ask you a very serious question." Seto took another bite of his pizza slice – his brother's Kaiba intellect had seemingly surfaced in the form of unstoppable skills of persuasion – and looked him in the eye.

Mokuba blinked and put down his own pizza slice. "Anything, Seto. Whatever I can do to help."

"I want you to think about it, long and hard, and give me the best answer you can."

"Of course!" Mokuba nodded enthusiastically.

"And … don't think anything strange of it."

"Um, I'll try?"

"Good." Seto took a deep breath. "Mokuba, you know Yugi and his friends. His male friends."

Mokuba was definitely looking edgier now. "Yeah…"

"If you _had_ to choose one to have … romantic relations … with me, which of them would you choose?"

If Mokuba had still been eating his pizza, he would have spat out the bite in his mouth and coughed violently, requiring Seto to rush to his side of the table and pound him on the back. As it was, though, he wasn't still eating his pizza, and he settled for the violent coughing.

Seto rushed to his side of the table and pounded him on the back.

"Mokuba, are you all right?"

"F-fine," choked Mokuba, sitting upright. "You just took me by surprise."

An understatement.

Kaiba walked back to the other side of the table and sat, waiting until Mokuba regained his breath. He then spoke, his voice quiet and serious. "Can you make that choice, Mokuba?"

"Well … um …" Mokuba thought. "Not Honda."

"Which one is he?"

"The guy with the big spike on his head." Mokuba made a swooshing motion above his head to elaborate. "Not him."

"All right."

"And not Otogi, either."

"Which-"

"The guy who looks like he's 'with' Honda. Except for that whole arguing-over-Jonouchi's-sister thing," Mokuba added.

Personally, Seto agreed. "That's good, Moki. Keep on going."

"That brings it down to Yugi and Jonouchi."

Seto winced.

"Should I guess that you're doing this to help your game?" said Mokuba.

"Yes, that would be a good guess."

Mokuba grinned. "Okay. That means that you're looking for the most impressive thing. Something that would be able to fit into your game."

He had an idea of what Mokuba would say.

He still didn't like it.

"Well, Yugi would be good. He's your rival, right? If you seduced him, then you would be better than him. He also has that spirit-"

"That _what_?" said Kaiba dangerously. They had had the discussion before.

"Split-personality complex," corrected Mokuba. "That leads to a pretty interesting plot. Because it might only be Yugi who likes Anzu, and his other half could like _you_. He talks to you more than Yugi anyway. When you duel, you know?"

"That does sound interesting."

"_But._"

_Oh no. _Kaiba took a bite of his pizza, now tasteless, and chewed it as though it was something particularly foul. Like the fairy tales that Yugi continued to try and feed to him and his brother. _Here it comes._

"In a lot of good stories," said Mokuba, adopting an informative tone, "whether they're straight stories or not, there's a certain relationship between the two people who you know are going to get together in the end."

"And that is?"

"Unfriendly! The main girl will really think she dislikes the guy for something, like … say … his ego, and the guy will keep on putting her down, right? But then, somewhere along the line, they-"

"I get the idea," said Seto.

Mokuba finished his pizza slice. "And you and Jou are like that, I can tell. He's actually one of the closest people to you, aside from me. He might not even actually hate you."

Seto had to be blunt. "Yes, he does."

"And _that's _what the girl thinks when she begins to realize that she's falling in love with him!"

"Are you saying I'm the girl?"

"No, you're the guy, but I was trying to make a point."

"So what you _are _saying is that I have a large ego."

"You do," said Mokuba simply.

"…Fine," said Seto. "Let us return to the subject – what do you think? Yugi or Jonouchi?"

Mokuba thought. "Who do you like less?"

His reply was instantaneous. "Jonouchi."

"Then Jou it is! Go for it, Seto! Good luck with love. I have homework to do now." Mokuba grinned and left Seto to his own thoughts.

His increasingly dirty thoughts.

But they were for the good of KaibaCorp.

It looked like the next stage of his research would begin tomorrow.

* * *

"Hey! Watch where you're going, ya pompous windbag!"

"Unless I'm mistaken, you were the one who was talking to Yugi while you walked. Get your facts straight, mutt."

"Again with the dog jokes!"

"I wasn't joking."

The first class of the morning had ended, and Jonouchi had promptly proceeded to barrel into Seto. Perfect.

Yugi interrupted. "Jou, it's okay! Sorry, Kaiba." He grinned. "I'll watch out for him in the future, all right?"  
"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side, Yugi!" Jou complained, face turned into a comic pout.

Yugi replied cheerily. "I am! I'm going to keep you from bumping into Kaiba again."

_No, you aren't. Not if I have my way. _

_Unfortunately.___

He almost sighed.

_All right, Seto, work up some enthusiasm for this project._

_Enthusiasm.___

"It's all right," said Kaiba with a small, calculated shrug. "After all, if Jou can't control his lust for me, who am I to deny him the chance for a small amount of harmless contact?"

Jou stared, doubtlessly attempting to comprehend Kaiba's words. Yugi seemed torn between a laugh and support for his best friend.

Finally, Jou managed to respond to the situation. His fists clenched and unclenched, shoulders rising as he fumed.

"You _ass_!"

Kaiba sidestepped easily. Jonouchi rushed past, and was caught on the return by Kaiba's outstretched arm.

"Happy now, dog?" whispered Kaiba into Jou's ear, hating himself.

Jou's face became red. It could have been because of his failing efforts to free himself, or Mokuba could have been right after all.

He supposed that he was rather like that novelist character. Seto had almost liked him, though he would be loath to admit it. After all, if the plot of _Gravitation _was any indicator of how things were going to go between him and Jonouchi…

"Kaiba, you…!"

…Back to the matter at hand. Things were going flawlessly.

That, of course, meant that there was-

"What exactly is going on here?"

A looming teacher. Yugi gulped audibly.

* * *

"All right, Mr. Mutou, I suppose I'll let you go with a warning. Next time, talk some sense into your friend. As for _you two_-"

"He started it?" said Jou weakly as the woman turned on him.

Kaiba let escape a dignified snort.

"I seriously doubt it, Jonouchi. You will be seeing me in my classroom after school."

"Wha-?!"

"You _and _Mr. Kaiba."

He would have protested, had his agile mind not immediately noted the opportunities that would crop up if he accepted the detention. "Yes, madam."

The things he would do.

The look on Jou's face, though, was almost worth it.


	3. Drama Rising

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**Notes:**

_School, school, school.__ Grr. I can do this, man! I can _do _it! Sorry if it seems short. Overabuse of the line thingie. Sorry._

**Five Replies:**

_To **keisan: **It's like She's All That? Really? Sadly, I have never seen the movie, so I'll have to take your word for it. I feel flattered, anyway. Yes, I like the idea._

_**random**: When I'm writing something, I love hearing that people can 'see a character doing it'! It usually means that I'm doing something right. (Either that, or I'm doing something so terrible that the mental images produced make them scream in pain, but …) Love your name, by the way._

_**Reppu**: Ooh, I do hope it's two-sided. grins Yes, I agree. Aren't snarky Mokubas fun? (Or would that be Mokubi? Mokubas? Mokubi? Oh dear.) Like Jou or Seto would do their homework in detention. Ha! _

**_solarsenshi_**: _Yes! He will learn to enjoy it, very much. Very, very much. Mwa ha ha ha._

_**Lemon-Merengue**: Hee hee. I think you're right. Kaiba is definitely enjoying it. Hey, we all know he needed a challenge, right? I mean, sitting around all day ... this has to be more fun._

----

_Exercise your rights! Click the Review button! Oh, the drama!_

_

* * *

_

_**Appeal**_

_**Three: Drama Rising **_

****

* * *

Actually, nothing much had really happened.

They sat, the teacher sat, and when the teacher looked away, they exchanged glares.

Or, rather, Jou glared, and Kaiba smirked in a superior manner.

Life was good.

Halfway into the session, Jonouchi had taken to throwing small paper wads in Seto's general direction. That had been stopped very quickly.

A shame, really; Seto had rather enjoyed watching Jonouchi miss – they were almost the entire classroom apart – and become ever more frustrated. The time the teacher had caught him, he had uttered a low growl as he threw his wad of paper. What an idiot.

But an idiot that he had to seduce.

All the better, he supposed.

He had decided at that moment to work on his plan of attack.

* * *

"_Mr._ Kaiba, for the last time, I know your motives! Please stop trying to convince me otherwise. The answer is _no_."

"Miss," Kaiba said quietly, "I honestly believe that I am the only person capable of pulling the boy out of his academic slump. Would you or would you not like to have one more 'A' student?"

"The only reason you want to do it, sir," the teacher replied in her impatient voice, "is that you know he won't do any work on the project whatsoever. You don't intend to be his partner at all."

_Oh, yes I do._

"Are you accusing me of being a liar, miss?"

"Yes, I think I am." She glared at him stubbornly.

"Who would you have paired me with otherwise?"

"A random student from the class," she said. "As I explained to you all earlier. The drawing of names will be held the day after tomorrow."

Kaiba leaned closer to her, planting his hands on her desk. "If I truly wanted to work alone, would I not do so regardless of the person I was paired with?"

She frowned.

Kaiba met her eyes, knowing full well the unnerving quality of his own. A reporter had once called them an "unsettling azure"; Seto always used all of his assets to his best advantage. "I tell you that I would like to help Jonouchi Katsuya. Rig the drawing, and you can rest assured that your school will benefit."

"How?" she said, scooting almost imperceptibly backwards in her seat.

"A generous donation, of course," Seto said. He stood upright now, turning to leave. "It is your call, madam."

She was silent as he made his exit.

* * *

The chatter had died down slowly, but it had indeed died. The woman had begun to call names, glaring at Kaiba from time to time. Kaiba noticed this with vague amusement as he continued to work at his laptop.

"Honda will be paired with…" droned the teacher slowly and deliberately, pulling the next slip. She looked at it. "Mazaki."

Anzu groaned and hit her forehead, while her girlfriends made sympathetic noises. Honda grinned and gave Jou a thumbs-up. "I'm definitely gonna ace this!" he mouthed.

Seto watched Jonouchi as he grinned back. The boy looked a bit nervous; edgy, almost. It was as though he had an idea of what was coming.

The woman drew the next name from the box, and Jou flinched.

"Mutou will be paired with…" she began, and Jou relaxed. He showed his emotions so clearly. "Seki."

Yugi grinned at a tall, dark-faced boy. The boy smiled back, waving.

Several names later, she finally plucked the name of Jonouchi from her box.

"Jonouchi will be paired with…"

The class waited with bated breath; only a few hadn't been called yet.

"…Kaiba." She looked up and gave Kaiba a pointed look.

Kaiba nodded in acknowledgement.

And then Jou realized whose name she had just called.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

"No! You _can't_! You can't do this to me!"

Class had ended, and Jonouchi had immediately confronted the teacher. Students filed out, giggling at Jou's misfortune.

"It was a fair drawing, Jonouchi," she said. "There will be no changes."

"But, but – not _him_! Have you ever seen us get along?! There's no _way _I can work with him!"

Seto decided at that moment to interrupt. "I hate to intrude on your conversation…"

"Then _don't_!" snapped Jonouchi.

Seto continued smoothly. "I am, Jonouchi, perfectly willing to work with you. Surely we can … put our differences aside."

Jonouchi turned to stare at Kaiba as though the brunette had announced that he was, in fact, a flying pink daisy, and intended to join a troupe of daffodils passing through town on the next full moon. "…The fu--?" he began.

"Jonouchi!" the woman said hastily. "Watch your mouth!"

Jou never took his eyes off of Seto, mumbling an apology to her lackadaisically.

They were all quiet then.

Finally, the teacher tired of it. She clapped her hands together. "Well, if there are no further complaints… it's settled. Good luck on your project, both of you. I am certain that you will excel."

And so it was settled.

It seemed that Jonouchi was in shock.

* * *

"So now this Eiri character is schizophrenic?" muttered Kaiba, flipping the page. "Next he'll be claiming that he was a pharaoh in his past life…"

"Big brother! Big brother!"

Kaiba snapped the book shut. "Yes, Mokuba?"

"It's time for dinner! Let's have pizza!"

He almost groaned. "Mokuba, we had pizza last night. And the night before last. A bit of variety wouldn't kill you."

"Well, then, what are we going to eat tonight?"

Kaiba thought.

And then …

… he had an idea.

A horrible, wonderful idea.

A horrible, wonderful, _brilliant _idea.

He smiled and stood. "I'll call Jonouchi. Get ready, Mokuba."

Mokuba blinked.

Kaiba's smirk grew. "We're going out to eat."


	4. The Third and Fourth Wheels

* * *

**Notes:**

**Regarding this chapter **– It's short. It's pointless, possibly even fluff. I apologize. I am hoping to work in more of the good ol' romance thing in the next few chapters, so don't be disappointed, please! I mean, you can be disappointed if you want to. Tell me in a review. Heh.

_DDR Extreme! Roar! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update in a while. On the bright side, I placed second in a game store's DDR tournament (for both the preliminaries and the finals a week later…!). Are any of you going to the upcoming Anime __USA__ convention? If you are, look for me! I will be cosplaying as Seto Kaiba (I wish I could see _him _playing DDR!). Please e-mail me. **MotherCHOWGoddess**, please keep on reminding me to e-mail you! I tell myself to and then forget. Bad me._

**Five Replies:**

**_Satanic Mechanic_: **Yuki wasn't schizophrenic in the anime? Really? I wouldn't know; I've only had the opportunity to watch the first DVD. I wonder why…

**_DarkangelWings1324_: **My goodness! You mean that I'm actually writing a sock-rocker? I feel so complimented. Thank you!

**_JuniperMoon_: **And if I have my way, they won't just be making _up _… if you know what I mean. Heh heh.

**_DemonSurfer_: **Yes! I would definitely recommend Gravitation. A staple in the diet of all boys' love fans. Like … like … Shakespeare for the English student. Except different. Indeed.

**_Sapphire Dragons_: **Ooh, food fight. Now there's a thought. Let's see where this goes.

And a side note to **_Sarasusamiga_**, whose name is painfully hard for Lethe to spell (sarusu … sarasa …?!) but is very wonderful anyway –

Plushie! Yay! I shall accept it with much gratitude. Want a cookie?

* * *

_Exercise your rights! Click the Review button! Oh, the drama!_

_

* * *

_

_**Appeal**_

_**Four: The Third and Fourth Wheels**_

****

* * *

It was the middle of the third ring before the phone was picked up.

"Jonouchi residence," said a male voice – Jou's, Kaiba determined after a moment – cheerfully. "If you're a telemarketer, feel free to hang up now."

"And if I'm not?" said Kaiba. He leaned against his door as he spoke, in an affected sort of casualness.

"Who is thi-" Jonouchi cursed. "Kaiba? What the hell do you want?"

"Well, if you really must cut to the chase-"

"Like you want to make small talk," said Jonouchi. Sarcasm didn't become the dog. "Why are you calling me?"

"I would like to invite you out to dinner," said Kaiba. How would Jonouchi react to _that_?

He found out two seconds later.

"What?! Are you out of your fu- are you out of your mind?!"

"You heard me, Jonouchi." Kaiba paused. "We could discuss the project. After all, we have to do it eventually."

"Hell, no. I'm not spending more time with you than I have to."

"My brother is coming."

"So?"

"He likes you, for some reason. Besides, I'll be paying for the food."

Jonouchi let out a cheer. Kaiba pulled the cell phone away from his ear quickly. "I'll be ready in ten minutes!" My, but he had changed his tone rather quickly.

"Then we'll be picking you up in ten minutes. I'll see you then." Kaiba hung up. There was a glint in his eye; a calculating Kaiba glint. One would almost think that he was enjoying himself.

* * *

Now, while Kaiba was a master of gaming and strategy, there were some things that he simply could not anticipate.

This had happened to be one of them.

In any case, he was irritated.

"No, Jonouchi. I did _not _extend the invitation to any of your … friends," he snapped, not bothering to keep his voice unheard by said friend. Honda twitched.

Jou crossed his arms. "Kaiba, he's coming along."

"No, he's not," said Kaiba. He reminded himself to remain calm. "Perhaps if you had notified me beforehand…"

"But then you would have said no," argued Jonouchi, for all the world as though he were a child intent upon bringing home his new pet frog.

Seto pressed a finger to his left temple, closing his eyes and trying to bite back a grimace. _You're trying to seduce him, not murder him. _"Jonouchi…" he began.

"Come _on_!" insisted Jou. "It's not like you can't afford it."

What could he say to that, short of revealing his plan? It was too early in the game to announce any desire for Jou; he could only agree.

Jou took his silence as submission, and a bright – though rather smirky – grin spread across his face. He grabbed Honda's arm and pulled him close, bringing the image of a child and his frog more prominently to Kaiba's mind. "So, Honda, ready to feast?"

"Why, yes, I think that I am!" Honda grinned back. It wasn't as rambunctious a grin as usual, though – he must have felt out of place. Jou had probably forced him to come along.

That meant that Jonouchi didn't trust Kaiba. And, he supposed, with good reason.

Kaiba sighed inwardly. He would have to give in on this point – but, if he played the game well, it would work even better than having Jou alone. All he needed to do was keep the interest of the group – to be charming, and humorous enough that they all felt at ease, and an entirely gracious host.

In other words, he needed to change his personality completely during the fifteen minutes in the limo.

* * *

Honda and Jou were laughing like maniacs.

"No, Honda! That one's the one that makes the windows go up and down! I think we should try _this _one!" As Kaiba watched in the rearview mirror, Jonouchi reached over Mokuba – who had somehow ended up in the middle – and pointed at the button he wanted to experiment on. "See, right there! The red one."

"The one that says 'alarm' in little white letters?" laughed Honda.

"I'd suggest that you don't," said Kaiba, careful to keep his tone neutral. "It's rather an important button."

"Ooh," said Jonouchi, rubbing his hands together.

"What does _this _button do?" quoted Honda happily.

Mokuba giggled. "I think that's the button that calls the Domino City Police in case we're attacked or get in a crash or something."

Jonouchi and Honda blinked at each other, and slowly backed away from the button.

"But!" said the preteen. "The blue one is pretty cool—no, to the left—yeah! That one!"

"Would you like to do the honors?" suggested Honda in a dignified tone – one that sounded suspiciously like it was mimicking Seto Kaiba.

Jou laughed and put on the same high air. "Why, thank you, sir Honda. I would be delighted."

That voice coming out of Jou's mouth was stranger than anything. Kaiba hardly managed to bite back a small laugh.

Jonouchi pressed the blue button.

* * *

"I still can't believe it. You managed to _break _the _curtains_," Mokuba laughed.

Honda rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, I guess we shouldn't have messed with the button so much, huh?"

"But it was so cool!" Jou gestured with his hands enthusiastically as he spoke, eliciting giggles from Mokuba and raucous laughter from Honda. "I mean, the way the curtains went back and forth – _zip, zop, zip, zop_ – man, that's neat."

"I'm glad that you're amused so easily," Seto said dryly, before remembering that he was supposed to be charming and cordial. He quickly struck up a smile – sincere enough to flatter the most temperamental of middle-aged businessmen – and attempted to save himself. "Although I'm surprised that you didn't go for the snacks immediately."

"There were snacks?" Honda and Jou chorused, amazed.

_Wonderful. Speak of food, and the beasts are subdued – no, no, they're people too, and I'm going to date one of them – _"Yes. I'll have to show you when we're finished here, won't I?"

"Speakin' of snacks," said Jou, "when are the appetizers going to come? We've been here for a good … uh …" He grabbed Honda's arm and twisted it to examine his watch. "… a good, long time," he finished lamely.

"It should be along soon," said Kaiba. Mokuba nodded.

"Well, whenever it comes, I know it'll be really good," assured Mokuba. "My brother and I have been here before, and the food is awesome."

"Cool," said Jou, a bit more subdued – Mokuba had reminded him whose company he was in. "So … uh …"

During the trip, Kaiba had comprised a mental list of subjects that he should avoid in order to foster good spirits. These included: Duel Monsters, Jou's sister, dogs, and pornographic videos.

He wasn't sure why he had felt the need to include the latter in the list, it being rather obvious to his straitlaced mind, but something in him had insisted.

At least he didn't attribute it to some voice inside of him. He had even told Mokuba once – if I start spouting gibberish about my having been a scantily clothed street dancer in Egypt, dear brother, please do me the service of drugging me, dragging my unconscious body into the Blue-Eyes White Jet prototype, and flying it into the nearest available body of water. Thank you very much. You're the best, Moki.

And another two to add to the list: anything having to do with Egypt or Yugi.

That left a grand total of three possibly interesting conversation topics.

Honda, Mokuba, and the project.

They all sat around the table. Jou fiddled with his napkin. Honda fingered the tablecloth, humming a nonsense tune. Mokuba sat.

Mokuba was a good boy.

Kaiba cleared his throat. "So, Honda, how are your classes?"

Honda looked up, startled – had Kaiba been talking to him? Then the question registered. "Um, they're pretty good, I guess. We had a test in … in …" He thought.

"English," supplied Jou. He turned to face Kaiba. "We had a test in English today. It was pretty tricky."

"What was the test on?"

Honda jumped in. "Oh, it was just review of some grammar stuff – you know, the tenses."

"But then, for the extra credit, she put down a bunch of really hard English words!" Jou added.

"Yeah," said Honda. Kaiba watched politely. "Oh, maybe you know this. How good are you at English, Kaiba?"

_Don't smirk. Don't smirk. _"I'm fluent," answered Kaiba. "Mokuba's still learning, though."

"Hey, I'm almost fluent!" protested Mokuba.

"I never said you weren't," said Seto.

"Anyway," said Honda. "Would you like me to ask you, Mokuba?"

"Yeah," said Mokuba. "Try me."

"What's the difference between 'continent' and 'incontinent'?"

Kaiba laughed. "Your teacher put that on a _test_?"

Jou frowned. "Why? What does it mean?"

"Wait, let me answer!" said Mokuba.

"All right, all right…" Honda sighed.

Mokuba's forehead furrowed; his lower lip jutted out in concentration. He appeared to be thinking deeply.

Kaiba knew better – Mokuba had no idea what the answer was, and he was about to make something up.

Mokuba straightened, and spoke in much the same air that Jou and Honda had been affecting earlier. "It's not that hard at all, Honda! 'Continent' is a large landmass, so 'incontinent' is simply a colloquialism that symbolizes one's inability to find oneself in a large crowd or place."

Honda and Jou gazed at Mokuba in awe. "Sounds good to me," said Jou.

Kaiba snickered.

"All right, smartass, what does it mean?" said Honda. He seemed to have forgotten whose company he was in. And, actually, that was what Kaiba wanted – for them to feel comfortable. He was succeeding.

A young, attractive man – _I must use his body type in the game_, thought Kaiba – came and set down a platter of appetizers.

"If you are 'incontinent', then you aren't able to control your own urination or defecation," said Kaiba. The young man looked up from the platter, startled.

Kaiba smiled. "Thank you, sir."

"Uh, enjoy yourselves," said the attractive young man.

He walked away quickly.

Their eyes followed him.

And then, when he was out of earshot, they all burst into laughter.

Even Kaiba.

And he felt a glow of self-satisfaction.

* * *

Honda had left to, as he put it, 'use the facilities'. Mokuba had followed him not too long after, after glancing at Seto and giving him a curiously snarky grin. That, of course, left him with Jou.

He would have to buy the kid a very yummy something later.

"Um," volunteered Jou.

He was fidgeting noticeably; the food on his plate had long since disappeared.

"Would you like dessert? I could call a waiter around," offered Kaiba.

_Stomach, en route to heart. Sugar is the key to happiness. Plates of spaghetti and sticks of Pocky don't hurt either._

Kaiba had learned much from his extensive research.

Jou grinned. "Definitely. Let's wait until Honda and Mokuba get back, though."

"All right."

"You know…" began Jou. He trailed off.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing." Jou waved his hand dismissively.

"It's all right. Tell me."

"It's nothing, really. Besides, if I told you, you might realize it."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "If you told me whatever it was, I would _know _it."

"Exactly," said Jou. "I'm not sure if I want you to know."

"Well, unless you tell me, I'm going to assume that you're sexually attracted to me and wish to do indecent things in public places," said Kaiba. He could hardly believe that he had said it, but then, Jou had that sort of sense of humor, didn't he?

Jou stared.

Kaiba smiled.

Finally, Jou laughed. "All right, then, I guess I'll tell you. Nothing could be worse than _that_."

Ouch.

Well, he would come around eventually.

"Go on, then," prompted Kaiba.

"Well, uh, you seem kind of … different today." Jou chuckled nervously. "I mean, you're not acting like a b – er, you're being kind of nice. Sort of."

"I try," said Kaiba dryly, guessing what word Jou would have said and not liking it.

"See? Not that important."

"Well, if you wanted to say it in the first place, it must have had some importance," said Seto. He leaned just a bit closer to Jou – _act as though their words matter, be subtly flirtatious _– and tilted his head to one side. "Is it a good change, then?"

He could imagine, without restrictions of modesty, what Jou saw – a young man, somewhat effeminate, no more than a few feet away from him; mahogany locks, carefully tended, straying to one side – a cultivated appearance, unintentionally betraying through the tilt of the head and clasp of the hands an underlying sexuality.

Perhaps the last part was a bit farfetched.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that the comics had affected him much more strongly than he had originally believed – a simple conversation, turned to a flowery description of his own appearance? What next? Would he abandon all pretense and simply arrive at school wearing a girls' uniform?

Then again …

… it was what the fangirls wanted.


	5. Hell

**INCREDIBLY LONG notes that you should feel free to skip over:**

**Regarding the long period of time without updates – (written several weeks ago) **I'm sorry, I really am. I am currently in my junior year of high school, taking several high-caliber courses, and am on the Robotics and tennis teams at my school – as well as the newly established anime club! While I'm still making excuses, I'd like to add that my Theatre Arts 1 class performed Competition Piece recently, and I played the part of the eccentric, artsy Drama teacher, Mrs. Mellencamp. Upcoming is The Unfinished, in which I play a pompous vulgarity omitted of a narrator. Think Gilderoy Lockhart.

Yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter, Lethe! You should still have had time to update at least _once_! It's been forever! What's wrong with you!

I don't know. I just haven't felt very Inspired lately. I'm trying my best, honest. Sometimes I feel as though I'm writing a chapter, not for the fun of it or for the creative challenge, but for the reviews. I hate that. When I start feeling as though I'm doing that, I tend to throw the chapter aside and work on something else for a while. That is particularly the case with _Trip to Fall_. It just feels finished to me right now, and I'm not sure how to go about wrapping up loose ends.

... That, plus I've been hanging around DeviantART way more than I should.

Thank you for sticking with this story for so long! I'll do better next time.

**This feels more and more OOC as I go along. Mwaaargh.**

Also, this chapter is more of a set-up for other chapters than anything. I'm hoping that it will become more interesting in chapters to come.

And a warning: Lately, I've been both rereading _Order of the Phoenix_ and plowing my way through the_ Hitchhiker's Guide _collection. This may be reflected in my work. I know not.

In other words, run. Now.

* * *

**Five Replies:**

ChibiSerenity3 - Yes, I completely agree. While I love the idea of Seto in a skirt (squeal!), I don't think that I would actually subject him to the anguish of having to wear one. There is a limit, after all. (And, besides, most people seem to prefer the thought of him wearing nothing at all. Cough.) Thank you very much! I'll do my best to keep him on the boundaries of his character. Although I have a quiet image in my mind – Seto in his room, with the door locked, examining himself before a mirror; you can see a slight frown on his face. He spins slowly, head turned back to the mirror all the while, and then sighs and takes off the skirt. "So much for that story device," he grumbles.

mandapandabug – I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Manda-chan. Is anyone else listening? No? Good. Lean closer. Here it is: _I never knew what the project was. _I did my best to keep it unclear, actually. Ssh. And if I didn't count it up incorrectly, then you are right! Go you! You get **100th Reviewer points**. I'll think up something special. :3 Thank you very much!

Sapphire Crescent – Yes! Practice _does _make perfect. At least, I hope so. Otherwise, I'm doomed…

Demon fritillary – I certainly agree with you! Yes, fanfiction would definitely help Seto along on his path to glory … but … personally, I don't think he could stand the trauma. Yes, I think that his 'people' most likely did a survey. Or they could have compared the content of several shoujo magazines. Who knows?

QuianYun - blush You're too kind. I feel so loved. I'm sorry that I couldn't update sooner!

_Many thanks toeveryone. Maybe I'll reply to you in an upcoming chapter … ?_

**

* * *

**

**_Appeal_**

**_Five: Hell_**

**

* * *

**

"What was I _thinking_? Was I thinking at all?"

Rustle.

Creak.

"There's someone here to see you."

Surprise. Hope.

"Send – send him in."

"Of course."

Awkward steps.

Cough.

"I didn't think I'd see you again."

"Listen, about earlier…"

"I love you."

"What?"

Shift. Stand. Close the distance. "I love you."

"I—"

Kiss.

Pull back slowly. Passionately. "I said…"

"I thought you hated me."

"This is shit."

Seto turned off the monitor and pushed back his chair, disgusted. _I need a break._

He didn't have enough data yet. No matter what he did, what he tried, it just seemed _wrong_. What would happen in that sort of situation, really? Certainly, the character wouldn't abruptly declare his love like that. Nor would he suddenly break character and _cry_. No amateur game developer would make that mistake, surely.

What had happened so far in his own pursuit of "romance"? Kaiba glanced at the small blue notebook next to his keyboard. He had taken to slipping it inside of his coat lately. He couldn't risk Mokuba coming home first and happening upon it. Dear brother though Moki was, the boy was a bit too inquisitive for his own good sometimes.

Speaking of Mokuba—

"Big brother! Big brother!"

Kaiba hurriedly whisked the notebook out of sight. Footsteps tromped down the metal stairwell and stopped at the door. "Seto, are you in here?"

"What do you need?" called Kaiba, stretching and standing.

"Well, um, it's time for din-"

Kaiba strode across the room and opened the door. He looked down at the boy and cut him off mid-sentence. "We are not having pizza."

"Aw, but-"

"No buts, Mokuba," said Kaiba in what for him passed as a very stern and motherly tone. "You are a growing boy. You need _nutrition_."

"Well, pizza is pretty nutritious, if you think about it."

Kaiba ruffled Mokuba's hair. "Don't try it. I've already got a meal planned."

His younger brother's jaw dropped.

Kaiba stepped out of the doorway and began to make his way upstairs.

After a moment, Mokuba trailed after him excitedly.

"What are we having? Are you _cooking_? Are you cooking with the _wok_? Don't you remember what happened last time you tried to use the wok? I still can't look at asparagus because of you, Seto, what are you cooking? Are you cooking? Seto!"

* * *

The night out with Jonouchi, Honda, and Mokuba had certainly been an interesting one, if not particularly helpful, Kaiba reflected as he prodded the quivering mass with a toothpick.

_This doesn't look right._

He had begun attempting to flirt with Jou just before they all ordered dessert; at first, Jou had hardly noticed. As it continued, though …

_This really doesn't look right. Is it supposed to look like that?_

… Jou had begun to look genuinely discomfited. Of course, Kaiba hadn't full-out _flirted_, not with Honda there, but he had … dropped hints. Let his gaze linger a bit too long, grazed his fingers over Jou's as he passed the dessert menu …

_It could be because it's smoking._

… And that one time, Jou had released the slightest hiss of breath, eyes widening-

_Dear God, it's smoking!_

One summer when he was in his earlier teens, Kaiba had decided to check over and revamp the security systems himself. This had included the smoke detectors.

His high-tech fire alarm picked up on the smoke at the same time he did. The sprinklers clicked, and then all hell was let loose.

**_hell_****_ (n.) _**

**_1.) The place down there; the place of pain and suffering to which bad people are sent upon their death._**

_(insert politician or actor of choice) will be sent to his or her own personal hell._

_**2.) A torrent of water emitting from an abundance of high-powered ceiling jets, descending upon one's kitchen and making further progress on fixing a decent meal next to if not entirely impossible.**_

_The sprinklers clicked, all hell was let loose, and Kaiba uttered a choice expletive._

Kaiba dove underneath the expansive center table, rolling on impact and miraculously managing not to become ridiculously tangled in his coat. The sprinklers – if it was indeed possible to call them that – kept at it for another minute before deciding that they had successfully wrecked everything worth wrecking in the kitchen. They clicked off.

The silence was deafening.

Kaiba tentatively moved out from under the table. He stood.

After a moment, he turned around.

There, before him, stared Mokuba.

They were both silent for a moment.

"…So, how's dinner coming?"

* * *

Half an hour later, the pizza arrived.

* * *

"Jonouchi residence. If you're a telemarketer, feel free to hang up now."

"And if I'm not?"

"Oh. Kaiba. What do you want?"

Seto flipped another page of FAKE – volume six. He still didn't like the story, at all – it was all just a loosely fabricated excuse for man-on-man action, in his opinion – but it was necessary for his research.

He didn't want to know why the next volume was the only one that had been shrink-wrapped.

"We aren't going to put off the project until the last minute. When are you free? …Mutt," he added belatedly.

"Uh…" He could hear Jou fidgeting. "Well, whenever, I guess. But you can't come to my house. It's … messy."

_Family problems_, Kaiba decided. "I wouldn't think of it. There's more than enough room over here."

"Oh, okay. That's cool," Jou said awkwardly. "When would be best for you? I mean, you must have a lot of business stuff."

This could work to his advantage.

"True. I have a meeting to attend to tomorrow afternoon. How about…" He paused, as if in deep thought – in truth, he had already formulated a plan. "Tonight?"

"Um, it's a bit late," Jou pointed out.

"We have several spare rooms. As irksome as you are, I would be willing to let you spend the night."

"_Jerk_," he heard Jou mutter under his breath. "Well, I would _hate _to be in your way," Jou said, more loudly.

"You wouldn't at all, since my grade depends on your presence."

"Kaiba, I really don't want to spend the night with a guy like you. Can't you act more like you did, you know, Friday night?"

_So either he didn't notice that I was trying to flirt with him, or he enjoyed it._

"Come over and we can talk about it."

"Fine. Where do you live?"

"I'll send a driver over to pick you up in fifteen minutes. Be ready."

"Wait a-"

Kaiba hung up.

He depressed a small button on his desk.

"Sir?" rasped a voice from the intercom.

"Isono. I have a task for you…"

* * *

_All right.__ I have a bit over half an hour. _Seto rummaged around in the desk drawer, finally procuring several blank sheets of paper and a mechanical pencil.

Click.

Click.

He took a breath and set to work.


	6. Let's Bond!

**Notes (FEEL FREE TO SKIP!): **

Kaiba's getting caught up in his own little games, it seems (IMPLIED KAIBA-ATTEMPT-AT-ANGST!), and we hear a bit from Jou. Sorry if this chapter isn't quite up to scratch. I've been writing it in bits and pieces, rather than in one big chunk o' spare time, like I'd really like to. I really, really hope that this isn't becoming OOC. …Well, I know the fifth chapter was pretty out there.

About my life (and that's when you _know _you can skip the Notes!) - school will be out in a few weeks, and I'm a bit nervous (I'll be a senior next year!). I took the SATs recently, which was fun - after a year of sitting around in a Precalculus Honors class, you'd enjoy the math section too (_I understand this! **Yesss!**_)!

And (this is particularly directed to MotherCHOWGoddess,loves!)-The one-act I mentioned last chapter went well. We were recieved well, I think. :3 I auditioned for the Advanced Theatre class, and I heard that we may find out who has been accepted very soon. I know that I have very little chance of getting in, but I'm hoping anyway. If not, it's on to Theatre II. Sweatdrop.

I received a, um,certificate and little silver medal thing"for outstanding performance in the National Latin Examination"(I'm in Latin III), which is pretty cool. My birthday's in nine days.

WE ARE DOING NOTHING IN MY AP CLASSES. AT ALL.

This concludes the Notes.

* * *

**Five Replies (which were written at different points in time, and thus, under vastly different levels of sanity/sleep deprivation):**

radiany: Wow. What you said makes sense, and I wish that I had thought of it! Although the 'secret admirer' bit did spark an idea… And, yeah, I had too much fun with the kitchen scene. I knew it was pretty out-of-character, but couldn't bear losing it… I'm hoping not to ramble on for too long (gotta get this chapter written!) but thank you so much for your time and well-thought-out criticisms.

Director J: I hope that you_ do _go back to writing fanfiction! It would be a shame if you didn't. I should be able to get a few more pages up soon, what with summer break and all.

Lothwen the Harpist: Why, thank you very much! But don't put yourself down. I mean, Jim Davis had to label _his _drawings as a kid, and look where it got him – now he has an entire staff drawing things for him. Sweatdrop. Wow, I'm inspiring.

ChibiSerenity3: Yes, I agree that it's moving a bit slowly. I'm just afraid that I'll move things along too quickly if I try to correct it – wouldn't want this to end up like _Smile_. Oh, you found the radio scripts? How cool! I was sad when I heard that he had died as well. The movie ought to be interesting. (_edit_: was _very _interesting. Marvin was so … _cute_. :O)

Hiccup: I love you. XD

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* * *

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**_Appeal_**

**_Six: Let's Bond!_**

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* * *

**

_What a jerk._

Jou stared moodily out of the tinted window, taking no pleasure in the gawking pedestrians (_what, like they haven't seen a limo before? in **Domino**?_) as he brooded. _Can't he just be patient for once? I mean, it wouldn't kill him, would it?_

_…Then again, maybe it would. _He held back a snicker, reminding himself that he was currently brooding and was therefore in no mood to snicker. Streetlights left green imprints on his vision as they blurred past. Finally, the limo pulled up to a tall, iron gate. Jou watched with interest as the driver stuck his head out of the window. A small device attached to the brick wall clicked, sending a thin laser directly into his eye. He didn't even blink.

"Welcome back, Isono," rang a mechanical voice. The gate swung inward, and Jou let out a whistle. Nothing less could be expected from the great Kaiba.

_…Doesn't mean I'm not still pissed at him, though._

Soon, Jou was walking down an expansive hallway, eyeing elaborate paintings and statues as Isono's monotone drifted in and out of his attention.

"…Always defer to both Kaibas, as few receive the honor of being their guest. Currently, the master is finishing up some business. I hope that you will not mind waiting for a while." Isono stopped at a gilded door and opened it, revealing a tastefully decorated home office.

Jou blinked. "You mean, that guy called me over here and he's _busy_?"

Isono slowly raised an eyebrow.

"…Er, _Kaiba_," Jou corrected awkwardly.

"Yes. I apologize for the inconvenience," said Isono dryly. "Please wait in here and do not let your curiosity get the better of you. Things are closed for good reasons." He gave Jou a curt nod before exiting.

Jou flopped into the squashy desk chair with a loud sigh. _What… a… jerk. _How long was Kaiba going to _take_? Knowing his work ethic, he probably wouldn't even show up before morning.

_Might as well have fun while I'm here._

He sat up and looked around. There didn't seem to be anything particularly interesting. He flipped up the chair's arms. No little button for a hidden bar? _Damn_. He had thought that every good multimillionaire CEO was supposed to have one of those. _Maybe it's in his _work _office. _Then something caught his eye: a drawer of the desk was partially open, its visible contents in disarray – as though they had been hastily returned.

Kaiba wouldn't do that.

Jou paused for a moment, hand already extended to the drawer handle. _…It's Kaiba's own fault for not making sure it was closed, _he reasoned.

He opened the drawer slowly, glancing around out of habit. A messy stack of paper greeted him. _What's this?_

* * *

"So predictable," Kaiba murmured, a corner of his mouth twitching upward. By the look of things, Jonouchi hadn't even considered that there might be a security camera in the room. Or two. He watched as Jou carefully removed the stack of papers and placed it on the desk. 

_All right, look through them…_

Jonouchi hesitated and then picked the stack back up, turning again to the open drawer.

Kaiba hissed. Of all the times for Jou to gain a conscience, why had he had to choose _now_?

* * *

_This isn't right._

Jou put the stack back in the drawer and closed it. It wasn't Kaiba's anyway – Kaiba would never do that – and Jou didn't want to intrude on anyone else's private belongings. It was probably Mokuba's. Mokuba was a good kid.

Unless.

Unless it _was _Kaiba's. But Kaiba was too smart to just forget to close a drawer.

_Kaiba wants me to look,_ Jou realized. "What kind of idiot does he take me for?" he muttered.

A damn curious one.

What could possibly be on those papers that was so important for Jou to know? Was Kaiba trying to catch him in some sort of twisted trap?

…No. Jou was just blowing things out of proportion. It was probably Mokuba's homework or something. Yeah.

Well, it shouldn't be any problem to just take a peek.

And it wasn't like he had anything else to do.

* * *

Jou reached for the handle, and then snapped his hand back. He stood up and rubbed his head. Kaiba groaned quietly. Then Jou glanced back at the drawer. _Yes. Come on. _

Jou reached for the handle again.

_Do it, Jou._

His fingers curled around it.

_You know you want to._

He opened it.

* * *

"Oh my God," whispered Jou, staring down at the sheets of paper now spread across Kaiba's desk. "These _can't _be Kaiba's…" 

_They're beautiful._

A child – Mokuba? - staring out a window, watching the rain.

A young woman standing alone in a crowd, waiting for the train.

And – Jou's breath hitched – _him_.

_That's the table we were at. _

There was the graceful drape of vines – the water glass that caught the light so nicely – even the tissue that Mokuba and Honda had been playing tic-tac-toe on at one point while they were waiting for their meal!

And at the focus of it was Jou.

Grinning. Laughing. Making a wild gesture, bangs swept across his forehead. So _real_.

Yet…

Only sketches.

Precise sketches, to be sure. Drawn by a sure, meticulous hand.

But _hasty_. Too quickly drawn. As though – yes, as though there was no time. It gave a strange feel to the pictures; they were covert snapshots, hurriedly taken and then stashed away. Never seen again.

They _were _Kaiba's.

Why had Kaiba wanted to show him this?

Footsteps down the hall.

"_Shit_!" hissed Jou. He hastily replaced the pictures, being careful to leave the drawer just a sliver open. Just as he leaned back in the chair, trying to appear innocent, the door swung open.

"I hope that you've been able to keep yourself amused," said Kaiba wryly.

_Jerk._

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," said Jou with a small, sardonic smile. "I'm amused by pretty much anything, you know." _Like you. Why are you still wearing that ridiculous jacket?_

"Being polite is much easier if both parties are making an active effort, you know," was Kaiba's reply. "Here, let me show you to your room."

"I'm not sleeping with you?" Jou regretted the words the instant they had come out of his mouth. But that was the way things had always worked when he slept over at Honda's or Yugi's.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to?"

"No!" shot Jou quickly. "I just … I … well, that's what usually…"

"This house has many rooms, most unoccupied. If it makes you more comfortable, you can take the room next to mine." Kaiba turned to leave. "Come."

Jou followed.

* * *

His plan had certainly affected Jonouchi, Seto noted discreetly. Whenever Jou thought that he wouldn't be noticed, he would steal a glance over at Kaiba. Jou's cheeks were almost flushed. 

_It looks like I'm making progress._

When would he be able to move on to the next step? When would he know that Jou had fallen for him? It wasn't a matter of whether it would happen, to the ever-confident Kaiba, it was a matter of _when_, and how long he would have to delay the release of the game.

"…So, it's pretty late," Jou began. "Think we'll be able to get the project done?"

"More than likely," said Kaiba. "It doesn't seem too difficult."

"It wouldn't to _you_," grumbled Jou.

Kaiba resisted the habitual smirk. "Then you should be glad that we're partners. In any case, I'm sure that you'll be able to add some … creative spark … to it."

Jou looked at Kaiba, openly now; his eyebrows had risen into his bangs. "Say wha?"

"Don't do that. I'm trying to be polite. And you look like a monkey when you do that."

Jou laughed despite himself. "You're really succeeding, huh?"

"Yes, I think so. Look here – what do you want to do about this?"

"Um," said Jou, leaning closer to Kaiba and peering down at the page being pointed out. "Uh. Well, I guess it would go well with that other thing we were talking about."

"There is such thing as too much, though. Would including it truly enhance the presentation?"

"Well, it depends on how we're gonna do it. Give me the paper," ordered Jou. Kaiba did so, making sure to oh-so-very-casually brush his fingers lightly against Jou's. "Great. So, anyway, if we- you know, something to write with would be good too."

Kaiba chuckled quietly, proffering the instrument.

"Anyway," said Jou, beginning to sketch loosely, "this is what I'm thinking. If we divide the poster like this, see, and then you… um… what are you looking at?"

"…Nothing," said Kaiba. "Continue."

"Okay, um. Uh," said Jou, having been thrown off his train of thought. "Well, if we di- oh, if we divide the poster like this, and then put the one segment _here_-" He sketched it out- "-then we can use that over _here_, and if we do it right, it could be really effective, you follow?"

"I see what you're getting at," agreed Kaiba. "However."

"Man, you and your howevers."

"Just listen, mutt- _Jonouchi_. Jonouchi. This might help." Kaiba reached over and plucked the pen out of Jou's hand, leaning close to edit the sketch. "Look at this."

Jou tactfully ignored Kaiba's slip. "Hey, that kinda makes sense. But what if…" He took the pen back. They had been pulling closer and closer to each other over the last half hour without realizing it. "See, check this out! You could put that part over he-"

"_But_." The pen changed hands again. The paper was becoming messier and messier, and the discussion quicker and more enthusiastic. Kaiba scribbled in his precise manner, correcting Jou. "If you do that, then this side will become unbalanced. Move it to that section."

"What about this part? You forgot about it! Fix it now or I'm taking the pen back."

"Like you _could_." Kaiba changed what he had written anyway. Jou smirked as he watched over Kaiba's shoulder.

And at that moment, something began to shout in the back of Jou's mind.

The way Kaiba was writing-

Kaiba's writing reminded Jou of those pictures.

Which meant there was a message that Kaiba wanted to convey to Jou, _without actually telling him_.

But … what?

And when had they gotten close enough to each other that he could feel Kaiba's breath?


	7. Getting Along

**Special Note from Lethe's Insecurity Center (which can be skipped very easily because it's so terribly dull): **This is a very, very boring chapter. Even I admit it. All it really does is set things up for the next chapter, which will feature very pretty half-naked men. And, well, Mokuba. Not that you needed to know that. Anyway, it's boring, and short, and kind of out-of-character if not completely out-of-character, and you could skip it, I guess. But where's the fun in that? And what happened to Jou's bad mood? Does he have crazy mood swings? Or does he just not express his mood? Are you _kidding_, Lethe? It's _Jou _we're talking about! I'm a failure as a writer! Why do I keep on _posting _here! Or maybe – yes, Jou was in a good mood when Honda was around as well, and now Mokuba's here – maybe it's just being alone with Kaiba he can't stand, which I'll have to fix pretty soon, yes indeed. I just hope this doesn't turn you off the fic forever. It's so hard to keep things interesting. And to keep people interested, you know? Dammit, I want Cheerios.

Seriously, though, I know the chapter's pretty short. I'll update soon, okay? (sweatdrop)

* * *

**Five Replies (which are usually written when the chapter itself is finished):**

Unregistered: Well, here it is! I hope it's okay. And as to your question … well … I don't want to spoil the fun. But, hey, it's a _Kaiba/Jou_. You'd think something meaningful had to happen between them eventually, right?

…Mwahahahaha.

Time-Again: Nooo! Don't die! …Oh, a kiss! I knew I forgot to do _something_. Ah well, I guess that's coming up. (smiiile)

Gemini Fallen Angel: Haha, guess what? XD Thank you for prompting me into action.

Suteneko-chan: Au, I wish I had a friend like that. XD I managed to persuade one of my guyfriends to read Gravitation, and he did … up until the fourth volume. That scared him away … ha ha … oh dear.

Eveilae: (You have such a cool name.) Update: yes! Fluff: um, maybe? Does this chapter count as fluff? Well, they haven't beaten each other up or anything yet … And you're welcome.

Side note to Hiccup: Ah, XD is like LOL, I guess. Turn your head to the left … yeah, there you go … and you should see a face! I see a face, anyway. Took me a while to get it…

**

* * *

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**_Appeal_**

**_Seven: Getting Along (Sounds So Wrong)_**

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* * *

**

"Your room," said Kaiba blandly, gesturing at the doorway. "There's a bathroom adjacent to it. As promised, my room is the one right next to it."

Jou yawned widely, trying to hide it behind a hand and failing. They had worked until four in the morning to finish the project, and then spent another hour quibbling over the small details. "Th-thanks, Kaiba. Be sure to get some shuteye, huh?"

Kaiba smiled, and it was almost genuine. There was something strangely funny and cute about a Jou exhausted to the point of falling over. "I'll do that. I don't think you'll have any trouble at all getting to sleep."

"Ya think?" Jou gave him a lopsided grin. "You aren't too bad, Kaiba. See you in the morning, I guess."

"Goodnight, Jonouchi."

"It's Jou," mumbled Jonouchi, brushing his bangs away from his face and yawning again. "Just call me Jou already."

"Go to bed, Jou."

"'Night…"

Jou walked into the bedroom and closed the door. Kaiba waited for three seconds before turning and entering his own room.

_I am a genius._

He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

"My God, it's bacon. You made bacon," said Jou, awed, standing in the doorway.

Kaiba removed the apron – actually, Mokuba had had to help him quite a bit, and they had listened very carefully for Jou's approach – and turned around. "I hope you like your eggs scrambled."

"I don't give a damn!" cried Jou, pulling out a chair and falling in like a … well, a starved dog. "I love you, Seto Kaiba. I love you so much."

Mokuba, sitting next to Jou, gave Kaiba a small wink.

"I take it you slept well?" said Kaiba, putting the empty pan in the sink and sitting down.

"Very well. Excellently. Never slept better," said Jou through a huge mouthful of eggs and bacon.

Kaiba winced. _Must seduce.__ Must seduce. _"I suppose I shouldn't try talking to you while you're eating."

"Well, I don't mind," shrugged Jou, heaping egg onto his fork, "but ya might be better off for it."

Mokuba laughed. "Nah, you should see Seto when I rip him away from his work to make him eat."

Jou grinned. "Not a pretty sight?"

"Mokuba…" warned Kaiba.

"He tries to finish it _as quickly as possible_," said Mokuba, shooting Kaiba a devilish look. "It's, like, three times as fast as what you're doing now."

"Well, at least he has a pretty face," Jou joked. _When did I become absent from the room? _Kaiba wondered. "But I'd love to see that sometime. I guess it's too much to hope you got it on camera?"

"Actually…" began Mokuba, before Kaiba flicked a piece of bacon at him.

"That's quite enough out of you, Mokuba," said Kaiba.

"Hey! No playing with your food!"

"You think I'm _playing_?" Kaiba put on a mock-dangerous face. From the way Jou's jaw was hanging open – eggs, bacon, and all – he hadn't thought Kaiba capable of it.

_This will work to my advantage after all._

"Aah! Jou, Jou, save me!" cried Mokuba, quickly finishing the last few bites of his breakfast (_who was he to tease me?_) before leaping from his chair and hiding behind Jonouchi's.

"No worries, Mokuba!" Jou deepened his voice comically. "I, Jou-Man, am here!"

"Are you sure it shouldn't be The Incredible Mutt?" teased Kaiba, stalking deliberately towards Mokuba.

"I dunno, I think Jou-Man would make for a better costume. Dog suits don't _suit_ me."

"That was clever, Jou. Very clever. Now move aside and let me kill my brother."

"I'm sorry, Kaiba Boy, I don't think I can allow you to do that."

"That is the worst name for a supervillain I have ever heard," said Kaiba. Jou had pushed his chair back and stood, holding his arms out to protect Mokuba. "You shall pay dearly."

"Come on, ya gotta be cheesy," said Jou, backing away as Kaiba advanced. "Turn on the cheese, man, you've done it before."

"I resent that," said Kaiba.

"It's true!" piped Mokuba.

"You're supposed to be on my side," said Kaiba. "It looks like we won't be having pizza any time soon, hmm?"

"Oh no!" cried Mokuba. He tried to push away Jou and run to Kaiba, but Jou was too quick. He grabbed Mokuba and lifted him into the air.

"Who's the bad guy _now_!" yelled Jou, laughing as he ran into the living room with Mokuba in tow.

Kaiba smirked and followed.

* * *

After a long, long battle, they had eventually collapsed and called a truce. Mokuba, as Kaiba quickly learned, still had plans for Jou – it wasn't often a friend came over, so Mokuba's clingy affections were understandable. _Kind of sweet, really, _admitted Kaiba's parental side. He would have to find reasons for Jonouchi to visit more often.

Especially since it would benefit his study.

"You're not leaving yet," announced Mokuba.

"Eh?" panted Jou, sprawled across the couch and not moving any time soon. "I don't think I'd be able to even if I wanted to. I'm dyin' here, Mokuba…"

"Hot and sweaty?" said Mokuba brightly.

"…Uh, yeah, you could call it that…" replied Jou slowly, shooting a glance at Kaiba. _What's he on?_

_I wish I could tell you, _Kaiba answered, quirking an eyebrow.

That was how Kaiba interpreted it, anyway.

"Well, it just so happens that we have an indoor pool … very cool and refreshing…"

_Aha._

Sometimes Kaiba wondered what he would do without Mokuba.

"I dunno, man, I don't want that guy to drown me…" said Jonouchi, though his expression betrayed interest.

"Very, very cool and refreshing…" reiterated Mokuba temptingly. "And there's a hot tub, and we have balls and stuff to play with, and…"

"Ooh," said Jou, still not moving. "That does sound nice…"

"I say we drag him there if he doesn't get up," said Mokuba. "What do you think, Seto?"

"That sounds like a very good idea," agreed Kaiba. "However, I'd rather not disturb the rug."

"Jerk," mumbled Jou. After a pause, he sat up and stretched.

"Yay!" Mokuba beamed and grabbed Jou's hand, tugging him up. "Come on, come on!"

As they walked down the hallway, Mokuba turned and grinned at Seto.

_Looks like we'll be having pizza tonight._

* * *

Halfway there, Jou realized what should have been plain at the beginning. "I don't have a swimsuit."

"Oh, that's right," said Mokuba. He rubbed the back of his head.

"You can borrow one of mine," Kaiba sighed. "It should fit you."

"I'll bet it has little Blue-Eyes White Dragons on it," snickered Jou.

"No, _I'm _wearing that one," shot back Kaiba. _Patience.__ Humor. _"You think I'd lend it to you?"

Mokuba laughed. "You get the one with the Dragon Flutes!"

They were all silent for a moment.

"Damn, that sounds wrong," decided Jou.

"Yeah, it really does."

They moved on.


	8. Ferdinand! Magellan! Ferdinand!

**Lethe Notes: **It's short! It's so freaking short! I take so long and then all I come out with is _this_! What am I coming to? Have I used up all of my inspiration in my youth? And how is this going to convince anyone to actually read the chapter? I'm a failure. At life. I'm so sorry…!

...So, how are you all?

I'm afraid to do the Five Replies. XD I feel like some ffnet admin will come up behind me, grab me by the neck, and hold a gun up to my head.

"Put your hands in the air! Do not touch that keyboard!"

So I'll give you a generic, heartfelt thank you! I love each and every one of you for being so super-awesome.

**

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_**Appeal**_

_**Eight: Ferdinand! Magellan! Ferdinand!...**_

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* * *

**

"Marco."

"This is stupid."

"_Marco_."

"Stupid."

"Freaking hell, Kaiba!" Jou shot, eyes scrunched shut. "Polo! Polo! Just _say _it!"

Mokuba giggled.

Without warning, Jou lunged forward. Kaiba dodged easily to one side, and Jou came up spluttering.

Jou growled. "Stay in one place, why don't you?"

"I thought that wasn't the point of the game," said Kaiba.

"Well, it's not," said Jou. "But it would make things easier."

"Over here, Jou!" taunted Mokuba brightly.

"Marco."

"Polo."

"Marco."

"Polo."

Jou waded forward like a bad dancer, waving his arms wildly in front of him. "Marco!"

Mokuba swam up behind him. "_Pohhhh-lo._"

"Aha!" cried Jou. Mokuba tried to evade him, but Jou's arms were too long. "Gotcha."

"Let's play something else," said Kaiba.

"Aw, is Kaiba-boy bored?" teased Jou. "Not kindling in your cranium?"

"And what is _that _supposed to mean?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but it sounds good," said Jou.

"Mutt."

"Windbag."

"All right, let's race!" Mokuba decided. "Or we could play volleyball."

Jou looked at Kaiba.

Kaiba looked at Jou.

Lightning sparked between them.

"…A race it is, then."

* * *

"All right, I'll count you off! You've just gotta get to the end of the pool and back!" announced Mokuba, who had taken to sitting at the side of the pool. "Are we ready?"

"This pool is huge," grumbled Jou.

"Suck it up," said Kaiba.

"How much do you wanna bet that I'll beat you?"

"That would be a losing bet, pup."

"On three!"

They readied themselves. Jou stole a glance over at Kaiba. He looked like a mermaid, he was so pale. Or, well, a merperson.

"One!"

He kind of knew already that he was going to lose, but he wanted to try his best.

"Two!"

Because wouldn't it be cool if he actually _did _beat Kaiba? The man would never live it down.

"Three! _Go_!"

And they were off.

_Holy-! I'm ahead! _Jou realized, exhilarated. He was a dolphin, creating a trail through the water. He was a fish! An Olympic swimmer! _I'm doing it! I'm doing it! _He looked back with a smirk.

And that was when Kaiba surged forward.

_Damn it._

* * *

Jou wheezed, struggling to raise himself out of the pool. "Ugh…"

The corner of Kaiba's mouth twitched. He climbed out with minimal effort. Even when he _was _winded, he knew that he didn't look it. "Here." He braced his feet against the floor and held a hand out to Jou.

Jou glared at him and grabbed his arm, clambering up. "I could have pulled you down," he huffed.

"You're too tired."

"Damn straight." Jou sighed, rubbing his neck.

"That was close, you guys!" Mokuba ran up. "That was really close! I thought Jou was going to win for a moment there, but then-"

"You _never_ look back," said Kaiba sternly.

Jou groaned. "Yeah, I know. But, see, I didn't think that I'd be able to actually pass you. I was making sure you weren't dead."

Mokuba laughed. "So you should get bonus points for a kind heart!"

"Yeah, right. You were gloating."

"Well, that too."

"So should we hit the showers?" said Mokuba.

"I dunno," said Jou. "I've kinda been having fun."

"Well, if you want to, we can come back after lunch," said Kaiba.

Jou stared at him. "Lunch!"

"Yes, lunch." Kaiba chuckled. "Let's go."

Mokuba frowned. "I'm gonna go and shower in my room. I don't like the shampoo down here."

"All right. Don't get the carpet too wet."

As always, Seto had to silently thank Mokuba. The child was a budding genius – and, thankfully, not nearly as rebellious as Kaiba himself had been at that age. This would, with any luck, work out quite nicely.

"Follow me, Jou," said Kaiba, snapping his fingers.

Jou grumbled.

But he followed.

* * *

_All right, Seto Kaiba. This is your chance. Take it slowly. _He took a deep breath and entered the shower room – spacious, with sunlight filtering through cloudy glass windows and reflecting from smooth teal tiles into the wide, doorless stalls. "Here we are."

"Wow," breathed Jou. "You people are crazy, you know that?"

Kaiba flashed Jou a smile and took a towel from a rack on the wall. "But in the best way."

He heard Jou turning on the water a moment before he did the same. _Slow. Careful. _Jou had chosen the stall directly opposite his.

Neither of them had removed their swimsuits, of course - thankfully.

This would still be difficult, though.

_For your company, Seto._ _Do it for KaibaCorp._

He turned and walked to Jou.

* * *

The showers brought out the awkwardness, Jou decided, that had been latent within the pool – held at bay only by the presence of Mokuba, who demanded so much love and attention that you couldn't think about anything else anyway.

But he was definitely in a room with a half-naked Seto Kaiba right now.

All alone.

In a room.

With a half-naked – although it really didn't matter, it was just a bit weird, because everyone knew Kaiba wasn't human – Seto-

"Jou?"

A breath across the steaming drops of water running down his neck. Jou stiffened. He hadn't noticed Kaiba coming.

The very half-naked and somewhat more vulnerable Seto Kaiba.

"Alive in there? Are you melting after all?" An obscure reference – what was it? Wizard of Something-or-Other.

"If anyone would melt, it'd be you," muttered Jou. He didn't turn around. "What is it?"

"I'm beginning to think that we should have divided the board into five," said Kaiba.

Jou almost burst into laughter. Figured that he would be so on task.

Even in the shower.

"It's fine the way it is, Kaiba. Don't worry about it."

"I don't worry," Kaiba snapped good-naturedly. "Now move over, I'm getting cold."

"Go back to your own shower!"

"You're skinny enough. Move over."

"I _said_, go back to your own shower." Jou tossed a puff of foam at him.

"We should talk about the project." Kaiba scooped foam off of Jou's hair and threw it back in turn. Jou spluttered.

"You – don't – that's not fair! Get your _own_!"

"Fine. Move over."

Jou huffed and thrust the little bottle of shampoo at Kaiba.

"Much obliged," quipped Kaiba.

"Screw you."

Kaiba doused his head with shampoo and started scrubbing.

Jou stared.

"What the hell, Kaiba!"

"What now?" grunted Kaiba, eyes scrunched shut.

"It's a good thing you're rich, because you really _suck_ with shampoo!"

"And just what," Kaiba said, "is that supposed to mean? It works, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but you use way the hell too much," said Jou. "You're not supposed to use half a bottle in a _day_."

Kaiba smirked. "My hair still looks better, though."

"But that's because you're _you_!"

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"You're Seto Kaiba! That makes you naturally h-" Jou's voice caught in his throat. He shoved Kaiba over and rubbed his own head vigorously. _Wasn't gonna say hot. Wasn't gonna say hot. Wasn't gonna-_

"Naturally what, now?"

"Ho. Hole. Asshole," grumbled Jou.

"I'm sure," said Kaiba. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't shove me in the future. I may have an exceptional sense of balance-"

Jou harrumphed.

"-but shove me again on slippery tiles, and chances are I _will _fall over."

Actually, that could have been dangerous.

Jou moved back to one side of the stall. "Sorry, man. Didn't think."

"Of course not."

And Jou would have walloped him one for that, but you know what? For once, he couldn't tell by the tone of voice if Kaiba was being rude or not.

So he left it alone.

Besides, he wouldn't want to knock Kaiba over.

The very half-naked and somewhat vulnerable Kaiba.

In the shower.

_Shit._

And so, Kaiba's little brainchild took another baby step.


	9. Time To Party

**Lethe Notes: **I was making a really stupid Marco Polo joke. XD Why not some other explorer, you know? ...Like Ferdinand Magellan! (is shot)

All right, a super-quick update for you! Too bad about the ending, huh? I was like, what the heck – you've gotta be kidding me! Ahaha… that's when you know it's bad.

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**_Appeal_**

**_Nine: Time To Party_**

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* * *

**

"Hey, Kaiba." Jou sidled up beside the young executive as students flooded out of the school. "_Kaiba_."

Kaiba glanced at Jou and nodded. "What is it?"

"You know the homework?"

"Yes. Do you?"

"Were we supposed to do it to twenty or-"

"Fifty-five," said Kaiba.

"Dammit," muttered Jou. "There went my weekend."

"It's not that bad. You'll be fine."

A month after the project had been handed in, and for some reason, Jou and Kaiba hadn't stopped talking. It hadn't really crossed Jou's mind. The guy was being nicer, for one thing.

And for another, he was actually getting paid.

A week after Jou's visit, Kaiba had confronted Jou. "Jonouchi. I'd like to make you an offer."

Jou had stared at him. Like the great Seto Kaiba could need _anything_? "Oh?"

"Mokuba has been pining after you."

"That's sweet," said Jou tentatively.

"Would you like to come over once a week? I could pay you twenty-five an hour-"

If Jou hadn't had more control, he would have started to drool. As it was, his mouth began to water. "An _hour_?"

"Is that not enough?"

"Th-that's – when do I start?"

So he had actually been raking in a respectable income for the past four weeks, and eating gourmet food, to boot. Or, rather, takeout. He guessed that Kaiba didn't enjoy cooking much.

"Looking forward to today?" said Kaiba conversationally.

"Yeah. How old is the pipsqueak now?"

"Thirteen." Kaiba shuddered.

"Ohhh, a _teenager_," laughed Jou. "You've really got your work cut out for you, then, _Mom_."

Kaiba glared at Jou. "I'll handle him easily."

"I think I'll get you a parenting book for _your _birthday."

Kaiba fell silent.

"Hey, you alive in there?"

Then Jou noticed that a little smile had grown on Kaiba's face. "You don't even know when my birthday is."

_Who's ever gotten him a present? _Jou realized. "Well, it can't be hard to find out."

"True enough."

"Come on, tell."

"It's not for a while."

"Fine." Jou pouted.

They were at the limousine. Kaiba opened the door. "In."

"What am I, your pet?"

But Jou got in anyway.

* * *

"Spin the bottle! Spin the bottle!"

"Doofus! There are only guys here!"

"Well, fine, what do _you _want to play?"

"Twister!" volunteered one boy with bleached hair. "Let's play Twister!"

"No _waay_," said a chubby boy who Jou had since identified as Takato. "You're the best at that game."

"That's why I want to play it," giggled Bleached Hair.

"Well, what do _you_ want to do, Mokuba?" said Jou brightly. He wasn't very good at taking care of more than one kid at a time, but they liked him well enough.

"Um…" said Mokuba. "Let's let Kosuke decide."

The quiet kid with mousy brown hair burst into a grin. "Seriously?"

"I think it's your turn anyway," said Mokuba.

"Sweet! Let's go to your arcade!"

They were up and away before Jou could exhale. Jou and Kaiba exchanged pained looks.

"How you dealin', Kaiba?"

"I'll … manage," said Kaiba determinedly. _He definitely can't be used to this, crazy businessman that he is. _

_He's like a forty-year-old bachelor, _Jou thought with an inward laugh. "Well, hey, I think they'll be occupied enough by the games that they won't need as much attention. Take a breather, huh?" Jou stood and stretched.

"I'm not that weak," said Kaiba. "I'm fine."

"But some rest will do you good. You're scary when you're cranky."

"If I'm resting, so are you."

"We can't just leave them unattended!"

"You said it yourself. They'll be _fine_," said Kaiba. "Now sit."

"No! Stay here and I'll-"

"A compromise," said Kaiba. "Let's go to the monitor room."

"The _what_ now?"

"That's where the information from the security cameras goes. We can watch Mokuba and his friends, _and _get some rest."

Something clicked in Jou's mind.

"You have cameras in here?"

"Of course. You don't expect me to be without proper precautions, do you?"

…_The drawings!_

_He definitely showed me the drawings for a reason!_

_But why?_

Jou grinned. "Great idea. Let's go."

* * *

"Wow," said Jou, after Kaiba had kicked out thetwoastonished-lookingguards. "It's… uh…"

Kaiba looked at Jou wryly. "Yes, it's a bit small."

"It's the size of my room," marveled Jou. "And with all the equipment and stuff…"

"I _know _it's small," said Kaiba. "Now get in."

"This 'in' stuff again," muttered Jou.

But he went in.

"Sit."

"All right, that's _it_. Try asking."

"Take a seat."

"Ask."

"Maneuver your rear into that _comfortable_ chair."

Jou folded his arms.

Kaiba sighed. "Sit. _Please_."

"Sure thing!" Jou laughed. "Finally, I get Seto Kaiba to _do_ something!"

Kaiba took the seat next to Jou's and scanned the monitors, ignoring him. "That's the one."

"Eh?"

Kaiba pointed. "Twenty-two. That's the one you want to watch."

"All right." Jou peered into the screen. "Looks like they're having fun."

"Good."

They didn't say anything for the next minute, just watching the screen.

_This really is a pretty small room, _thought Jou. _I wonder why. _

He could almost hear his heartbeat.

"Jou? When do you think we should go back?"

...He _could _hear his heartbeat. "Wh-what?"

Kaiba blinked at Jou. "What's wrong?"

Da-dum.

Da-dum.

"Spit it out. I haven't got all day."

_Shit! What's happening?_

His face had started to burn.

Had to be because the room was so stuffy.

"You called me Jou."

* * *

Kaiba bit back a curse. _Damn it! _It had just slipped out. He had been contemplating using that weapon _later _in the day, but now –

What should he do?

_Think through this carefully, Seto. Breathe in._

_Breathe out._

_There you go._

"I'm sorry," said Kaiba slowly. "I didn't mean to."

Jou's face was bright red. Maybe it would work out to Seto's advantage after all. "Oh, uh … it's okay. You surprised me a bit there is all."

They made eye contact, and then looked just as quickly away. The awkwardness was palpable.

More than a month since Kaiba's little endeavor had begun, and it had all led up to this one perfect moment.

He didn't know if he could go through with it.

It was just a motion. It wouldn't be real. Move closer to Jou, touch his lips – just like getting up in the morning, or retrieving a newspaper.

A motion.

He had to do it. For the game, for the company, for the weeks of work that would be wasted and for the heaps upon heaps of disturbing books – he did _not _want to have read them for nothing. Especially not … oh, God. He had _not _suffered through _FAKE_ for nothing.

Kaiba wrenched himself into fierce resolve.

_You_ _will_ _kiss Jonouchi Katsuya, and you will make him enjoy it - or die trying._

"…Jou?"

Jou jumped a bit in his seat. His face was still flushed. "Y-yeah?"

He was stuttering. Had Kaiba really made him that nervous? A strange thrill of pride lit at the base of Seto's throat, spurring him on.

_Do it._

_Do it now._

He stood and walked to Jou. "We need to discuss something."

Jou, never intimidated, rose to meet Kaiba, falling just a few inches short – a fact that Kaiba knew Jou had used to, and probably still did, despise. "What is it?"

Kaiba raised a hand to meet Jou's shoulder. His fingers tingled.

He was actually going to do it.

Jou's eyes widened as Kaiba backed him against the wall. "Hey, wait – what are you – I thought we were getting along!"

"We are."

And Kaiba kissed him.


	10. Blind Spot, Double Plot

**Lethe Notes: **Oh my God. Oh my Goddddddd.

I TRIED TO WRITE A SMEXY SCENE AND THIS IS WHAT CAME OUT.

…So, yeah, sorry about that. XD It's so weird making them kiss and still trying to keep them in character. Maybe I should give up trying now. Maybe Kaiba's actually Pegasus in a mask or something.

Actually, that's scarier…

Anyway, I guess the thing I want to say is, see… in _Cursive _(cheap plug!), Jou was all like OMG ANGST RUN AWAY! but I didn't feel like doing that again. So… (sweatdrop) Anyway, you'll find out, won't you?

Here we go.

**

* * *

**

_**Appeal**_

_**Ten: Blind Spot, Double Plot **_

**

* * *

**

"Hey, Mokuba?"

"Hmm?" Mokuba's eyes didn't leave the screen. Two little ships exploded into white dots.

Kosuke glanced around. "What happened to your brother and that guy, anyway?"

"Oh," said Mokuba. He looked like he was stifling a grin. "I think they just needed a break. But don't try anything - we still have security guards watching the cameras."

"Cameras?" Bleached Hair looked up, interested. Five more ships burned out.

"Yeah. Didn't you notice?" Mokuba lifted a hand to point. "Up there, and there, and in that corner there, and a few other places."

Takato _ooooh_ed. "Wow, you're right! I guess that's why they're not too worried about us."

"It must be really annoying, though, to have cameras in your room," mused Kosuke. "I don't think I could live with it."

Mokuba shrugged. "You get used to it. And besides…" He glanced around and grinned. "There's a blind spot."

"Seriously?" laughed Bleached Hair. "Sweet."

The last ship went down.

Mokuba sighed and let go of the joystick. "That's one strategy I'll never use again…"

* * *

Kaiba pulled back slowly, examining Jou's reaction. The boy was still as a stone, and quiet as one too – strange and almost amusing.

A silence passed. Jou wet his lips. "Ah… is there something I should know?"

_Don't mess up now. Don't let me lose it all now._

"I… don't know how to say this," Kaiba said. He touched Jou's cheek and let his hand linger. Jou let out a hiss of breath. "You…"

Suddenly, Jou met his eyes. "Take off your coat."

"What?"

"Take off your coat."

Kaiba stared at him. "…All right." He gingerly laid it on one of the chairs and turned back to Jou. "Well?"

Jou grinned. "Wow, you really are skinny."

"Are we pretending that didn't happen, then?"

"Ah, not yet," said Jou. "I'm thinking."

"We're going to be here all day, then," grumbled Kaiba. "Not that that would be a bad thing."

"I'm not sure whether to feel complimented or not," said Jou.

"Then do."

"Yeah, I guess it's not every guy who gets to be … kissed … by the great CEO-dude, huh?"

Their eyes met. There was a spark.

"Nobody else, as a matter of fact," said Kaiba.

"I see. I'm an experiment," joked Jou after a moment. But Kaiba saw the way his cheeks reddened a little bit, and the tiny sparkle that appeared in his eyes.

"A very good experiment, if that's the case."

_A useful one, too._

Kaiba placed a hand on the wall behind Jou. "Are you done thinking yet?"

"If I say yes, what will you do?"

"Ask you what you were thinking about."

"And I might tell you."

"Then, depending on your answer, I might kiss you again," murmured Kaiba. Their breaths were mingling.

_At least he doesn't smell like a dog._

"This is weird," laughed Jou. "Honda would kill you."

"Honda's not here. And he most certainly would not."

"Oh, right, you've got your goonies." Jou rolled his eyes.

"I am offended."

Jou grinned.

Kaiba smiled.

It didn't take as much effort as it had at first.

"What were you thinking about, Jou?"

"How incredibly skinny you are," joked Jonouchi.

Kaiba kissed him.

"What were you really thinking about, Jou?"

"How I'm the only person you've ever kissed."

"Is that all?"

"Well, there was a bit of personal exploration and stuff, but nothing really important." Jou reached up and took the folds of Kaiba's shirt in his hands. "Let's try this thing."

There wasn't much talking after that.

* * *

"See, right here," said Mokuba, pointing to a corner at the side of his bed. "The cameras don't quite catch this area here."

"Ah," said Takato. "That's pretty cool."

Bleached Hair grinned. "So, can you guys think of anything we could do here?"

They looked at each other.

"…Nope."

"Not a thing."

"Can we play Twister now?"

* * *

"We should probably get back now," said Kaiba finally, removing his fingers from Jou's hair. "They'll start to wonder."

"Mm," mumbled Jou. "That's a thought."

"A good thought. Up," Kaiba commanded.

Jou groaned and stretched. "So… what does this make us, anyway?"

"What do you want it to be?" said Kaiba. "You might regret it tomorrow."

"I might regret it now. But I don't. It's funny," said Jou. "It's like all the time we've known each other... like it's been leading to whatever the heck it is that just happened."

_Jonouchi Katsuya, a romantic? I wouldn't have guessed._

"Not that I won't still beat you one day."

"Sure," said Kaiba, smirking. "Although we might have to up the ante now."

"Ooh, damn," said Jou. "Do we really have to check up on the kids?"

"Five more minutes," conceded Kaiba.

"Five it is."

* * *

Jou let go slowly. Their mouths made a wet pop. It wasn't gross, really, just different. Weird.

It was too simple. It all made sense.

Kaiba had been planning it from the beginning.

Jou had never pegged Kaiba as the sort of person who would chase after _anyone_, especially when it might affect business. Jou was open-minded, sure, but not everyone was. Even if Kaiba _was _into guys, he wouldn't do anything about it.

Unless the benefit was greater.

_What does he want?_

Well, Jou wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

Besides, it didn't feel half bad.


	11. All Fall Down

_**Appeal**_

_**Eleven: All Fall Down**_

* * *

Augh.

I'm sorry, as always, as ever. Today I'd like to blame college.

Whoa.

College.

Sorry if this chapter seems a bit fast-paced. Things need to happen! Augh!

* * *

"I thought we were getting along!" cried the blond. A menu dropped down, prompting Seto to select one of three responses. He smiled and pulled the cursor over _We are. _

One. Knowledge of the workings of homosexual relationships, vital to creating a plausible plot.

He was getting there. In the weeks that had passed since Mokuba's party, it was like Seto had found the comprehensive instruction manual to All Things Romantic. He and Jou still had their differences – more than before, it seemed – but, damn, the boy was a treasure trove. He was _real_. Seto knew that if he could just tap Jou's sincerity, his drive, he'd have _the _game.

And he was getting there.

Kaiba accessed the code and looked it over. It was getting harder to find time, though. He had to spend several hours a day with Jou. It was necessary.

It was necessary.

The phone rang twice, and then stopped. The intercom crackled. "Seto, it's for you."

Seto groaned quietly. He'd hoped to work out at least one of the endings today. "Got it," he told the speaker, before picking up.

"Kaiba speaking," he said. "Ah. I thought it was you."

"Hey, Kaiba," Jou said. "Listen, I'm gonna have to call tomorrow off."

"Oh," said Kaiba. He waited for Jou's explanation.

"Yeah, 'cause Anzu's birthday is coming up, and me and the guys have to go and find her something nice." Jou paused. "Um, wanna come?"

"That's perfectly all right," said Kaiba.

"So you're okay with that?" Jou prodded.

"We can always reschedule, Jou. Besides, I had something I wanted to finish."

"All right. Talk to you later."

Click.

Kaiba sighed and cracked his knuckles. Back to work.

"So? How's it going?"

…Or not.

Mokuba leaned against the doorway and grinned at him. "Well? Is my big brother the best seductress ever, or what?"

"I'm making progress," said Kaiba, pointedly ignoring Mokuba's misplaced knowledge of gender-specific nouns.

"Have you told him you love him?"

Seto turned and faced his little brother. "I like to think that I'm not that cruel, Mokuba."

This wasn't going to last forever, after all.

Mokuba nodded. He understood. "I know you're not, Seto. I just thought … maybe."

Really, he was just in love with the game.

And that was all.

* * *

Jonouchi frowned down at the buzzing receiver before placing it on the hook. _What a stilted conversation. I guess he's really busy. _

He hadn't found anything yet. He hadn't seen any drawings since, or picked up any clues. He'd even casually asked Mokuba:

"Hey, kid, why'd your big brother chase me down?"

"Because he wants you," Mokuba had said brightly.

"Why _me_?"

"You're the best choice. Do you think we're going to have pizza tonight?"

It was possible that Kaiba actually cared, Jou knew, but – something told him that he was … a key. Part of a bigger plan. The same something that made him 'lucky' in duels, that's what was telling him so, and it made Jou's chest hurt.

Because he was starting to honestly value Kaiba.

Yuug would be thrilled.

But Jou wasn't.

He knew that it was going to fall down.

* * *

"Too frilly," said Honda stubbornly.

"But Anzu's a _girl_," Jou argued, waving a hand. "She _likes _frilly."

"Have you ever seen her wear anything frilly?"

"No, but I bet she'd like it!"

"It's a bit expensive," Yugi said. "Maybe frills cost more."

"Maybe this store just sucks."

The cashier on duty glared at them from across the room.

"Seriously, guys," Jou sighed. "We've been looking for five hours now. We should just pick something and go."

"But it has to have meaning," said Yugi.

"And no frills," Honda added.

"And be in our price range."

"Otherwise we'll never get anything good for our birthdays," Honda concluded.

"Argh!" Jou cried, clutching his head. "How did we ever get this done last year?"

"I think we gave up and got her gift cards," said Yugi.

They exchanged a look.

"Hey, how about we-"

"_No._"

* * *

His eyes burned.

Kaiba shut off the monitor, blinked three times, and flicked it back on with a drawn-out sigh. He had been productive as always, methodically coding and planning, but the life wasn't there today. The segment wouldn't seem any different to consumers, he knew, but – _he knew_.

It frustrated him. He couldn't begin to depend on Jou for answers.

No. Not answers.

Just reference.

"Computer," Kaiba commanded. "Yugi's cell phone."

It answered mechanically. "Dialing, sir."

Mokuba opened the door and peeked in. "Big brother?"

Ring.

"I'm here. What do you need?"

"Oh, you're on the phone?" Mokuba said. Ring. "Sorry, I didn't know. I just wanted to ask about dinner."

"I'll talk to you in a minute," Seto promised, and Mokuba nodded. Ring.

Click.

"Hello?" Yugi chirped.

"Yugi," said Kaiba. "Is Jou there?"

There was a flurry from the other end of the phone.

"_Jou_?" cried Yugi happily. "And you want to- oh, gosh-"

"I mean, Jounouchi," Kaiba corrected briskly. "It's for an assignment."

He could hear Jou in the background. "What? What? Who is it, Yuug? Yuug? Why'd you say my name?"

"Oh, all right," said Yugi, the smile still in his voice. "One moment."

A crackling noise as Yugi handed it over.

"Hello?" Jou said suspiciously.

"Good afternoon, Jou."

"Oh! Kai-" Jou exclaimed, before cutting himself off. "Is something wrong?" he said quietly.

_Remember the plan._

"I just … wanted to talk to you," said Kaiba. "Since we couldn't get together today."

"Jou?" came Honda's voice. "Why are you going all red?"

"Shut _up_!" Jou hissed.

The corner of Kaiba's mouth twitched upward. "How is the shopping going?"

"It's, uh, it's going," Jou said. "Um. Not so well, actually. What do you _get _for girls?"

"You could buy KaibaCorp's new, personalized portable web interface device."

"Is it twenty bucks or less?"

"Most decidedly not."

"Then sorry, but no." Jou laughed. Mokuba sighed, smiled a bit, and backed out of the room with a wave.

"What does Anzu like?" Kaiba said, more seriously.

"Girly stuff," said Jou. "That's the problem. There's too much of it."

"Then why not a gift card?"

"AHA!" Jou cried. "Hang on a sec."

"All right."

On the other side of the phone, Kaiba heard Jou: "He suggested a gift card, guys! It's gotta be okay!"

"Jouuuu!" exclaimed Yugi. "Gift cards don't have _meaning_!"

"But if _he _suggested it-"

"_No_, Jou!"

Jou grumbled and put the phone back to his ear. "That won't work, man."

"Meaning, hm?" said Kaiba.

"Yeah. Meaning."

Kaiba smirked. "Lingerie."

He heard Jou choke. "Well, that does have meaning, but-"

"What'd he say, what'd he say?" Honda was probing.

"But not the right kind of meaning, I think," Jou laughed. "I think Yugi'd probably-"

"What'd he _say_, Jou?"

"It _is_ very personal," Kaiba said. "And it would tell her a lot about what you think of her personality."

"You have a point," Jou said mock-thoughtfully.

"What-did-he-saaay?"

"Lingerie," Jou said.

"Aagh!" cried Yugi.

"You're kidding! …Although that doesn't sound like such a bad idea, come to think of it."

"No lingerie!" Kaiba heard Yugi exclaim. "She'd _kill _us!"

"Yeah, we can't get birthday presents if we're dead."

"Lingerie's out, bud," Jou sighed.

Kaiba smiled slightly. "I thought as much. Have you thought about buying her a book?"

"…Oh. That could work. Hang on, lemme tell them."

"All right."

And then Mokuba burst into the room. "Seto! Se-"

Kaiba whirled around. Mokuba was red-faced and breathing heavily. "Mokuba?"

Mokuba's eyes widened. "You're still on the phone-?"

"Mokuba, what is it?"

"Seto, you- you're on the news."

"That's nothing new," Kaiba said hesitantly.

"Seto, it's about your game."

And it all started to collapse.

"Hey, we're gonna go look for a book!" Jou's voice returned. "So I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Jou-"

He knew that it was only a matter of time.


	12. One Giant Conspiracy

_**Appeal**_

**_Twelve: One Giant Conspiracy_**

-

Happy New Year, and thanks for sticking with me:3

Sorry for the infrequent updates, and for the nature of this chapter. I know Anzu's really bright, so what she does seems right to me … but what do you think?

Onward!

-

Seto and Mokuba sat together, watching the television intently. Seto brushed the bangs out of his face; once, then again. He wouldn't have looked nervous to anyone else – but Mokuba knew.

Mokuba knew.

"With the help of a KaibaCorp employee who wishes to remain anonymous, we have picked up on a fascinating story," the reporter chirped. Her face was replaced by footage of the KaibaCorp building. "What could Seto Kaiba, Domino's celebrated teenage CEO, possibly do to bolster the success of his multibillion dollar company? He's been riding high for years, with no indication of decline – until recently."

The reporter returned to the screen. She adjusted her glasses and continued. "KaibaCorp's sales, while still far ahead of any contenders', are slipping. Why do you think this is, sir?"

The camera zoomed out to reveal a young, freckled Black Crown employee. He fidgeted under the attention. "Well, ma'am, KaibaCorp only really occupies this one niche, you know? And everyone who's interested in the stuff they release, well, frankly, they've bought it already. And they haven't really done anything… _new_ lately, you know? I guess it's just, like, well, let's give them a new duel disk or whatever, some kind of interactive portable thing. You can only do so much of one thing, you know? They've gotta spread out, man." He lifted his hands. "We know Kaiba's creative and all. We'd like to see more of that."

Mokuba glanced at his brother. Seto would realize in a moment that he was gripping his knees to the point where his knuckles were turning white. Then he would quietly berate himself for his lack of outward control, and change position. Either that or he would take the laptop.

Kaiba frowned, crossed his legs, and took his laptop from the table next to their couch.

Huh. Or both.

"Well," continued the reporter, "we are here today to tell you that Seto Kaiba _has _been working on something new – and, according to our source, unlike _anything_ KaibaCorp has released before. On location to tell us more, we have Tota Matsuda. Matsuda?"

"No," Kaiba said under his breath. "Who the hell would-"

He began to type furiously, eyes still on the screen.

Mokuba felt sorry for the employees' families sometimes.

Cut to a bookstore.

"Thank you, Miss Misora," said Matsuda. He turned to face the chubby-cheeked man standing next to him. "With me, I have a cashier for Domino Books. Sir, could you tell me more about what we were discussing earlier?"

"Oh, right, I had one weird sale not too long ago," remembered the cashier, rubbing his head. "Guy all decked out with sunglasses and a big hat and stuff, like he was hiding from someone. Straight out of a movie. Had this giant stack of…"

"Of?" prompted Matsuda.

"_Gay books,_" said the cashier, glancing around awkwardly. "I mean, it's not like I'm against that kind of … stuff … but he had to have had at least thirty of them. Comics, romance novels, the works."

"If you think about it," said Matsuda, "could you imagine that that person was, in fact … _Seto Kaiba_?"

A dramatic pause.

The camera zoomed in on the cashier's face.

"Well, actually … yeah," he said, surprised. "The right height and everything, now that I think about it."

"What the hell," said Kaiba.

Mokuba agreed.

-

"So what?" Anzu grumbled at the television, placing a plate on the rack to dry and reaching for another. "I swear, people have no lives."

And neither did she. Ordinarily, at this time of day, she'd be out having fun with Yugi, Jou, and Honda. She'd called Yugi's cell around noon, and he'd picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, Anzu!" Yugi had said brightly. "What's up?"

"I was thinking of calling up Honda and Jou. We could go to Burger World and then the arcade," Anzu said.

Normally, Yugi would jump at that.

"…Oh," Yugi said. "Well, actually … um … I'm kind of busy right now."

"Oh, that's all right," Anzu had told him.

And it would have been all right. She'd have figured that he was doing homework or helping out Gramps or something.

If, right before he disconnected, she hadn't heard Jou and Honda laughing in the background.

What? Wasn't she _good enough _for them any more? Hadn't she been with them for _everything_? "Maybe it's 'guy time'," she said to herself.

Yeah, _right_. He'd have said something. Yugi didn't keep secrets from her! She slammed a glass down. It was a wonder the glass didn't break.

"…a video game. But not just _any _video game, our source says – a video game that has nothing to do with Duel Monsters."

Maybe they were out dueling. Anzu knew she was weak at the game, and she didn't mind, but if they weren't going to invite Anzu along, then why had Honda been there?

"A game aimed toward a different audience – the _female _audience. This is unusual in itself. But the nature of the game itself is far more intriguing."

Maybe they had gone to hit on girls at the mall or something. Jou and Honda had been grousing about their singleness a bit more often lately, she'd noticed.

"Our source suggests that Seto Kaiba is, in fact, developing a _male-on-male dating simulation._"

Wait, what?

Anzu stared at the screen.

Her thoughts immediately jumped to Jou. He'd been interacting with Kaiba more often lately. He didn't think that anyone noticed, but it was plenty obvious. The bite wasn't really there. Ever since that project that they'd had to work on together.

The project.

What if their pairing hadn't been just chance? It wasn't completely unlikely. And if the reporter's source was right, Kaiba would have a work-based motive.

Come to think of it, hadn't Jou, Honda, and the Kaiba brothers all gone out to dinner together? Honda had said that Kaiba had only really wanted Jou along.

"You're making too much of this, Anzu," she told herself. "This isn't one giant conspiracy."

But… hadn't Jou started disappearing once a week, a while after the project was handed in? He'd said that he had a new job, but he wouldn't tell any of them what it was. She'd figured it was embarrassing, like her short-lived Burger World stint, so she didn't push him.

What if it wasn't a job at all? What if he'd been spending time with _Kaiba_? He wouldn't want them to know about that, after all he'd said about the guy.

"No way. No _way_," Anzu said.

But it all fit into place.

And if it all fit into place, then Jou was about to be hurt.

She put a last plate on the rack, and noticed that the glass had cracked.

Yugi. She had to call Yugi.

Anzu flipped open her phone.

But … he, Jou, and Honda were all together.

She was upset with them.

"This is more important," she decided.

And she dialed.


	13. Emergency

**Appeal**

**Thirteen: Emergency**

**

* * *

  
**

"Pack your possessions in fifteen minutes or less," came the crisp command. It was the first time Seto Kaiba had spoken to him directly. He sounded just like he did on the videos, if a bit harsher. "If you are not gone in twenty, security will arrive to dispose of you."

Click.

Imori replaced the phone on the hook, hand trembling.

Fired.

_Fired._

But what had Imori done? It was all _Kaiba's_ fault – if he'd just given Imori that raise, Imori wouldn't have been strapped for cash. And if Imori hadn't been strapped for cash, well, he wouldn't have been tempted to go to the press, would he?

Everyone but Imori, that's how it always was. Puny, overlooked Hajime Imori, always the first to show up and the last to leave. The studious high school twerp whose tests all the bullies would copy. And how was he repaid?

Imori stood and looked over his desk.

He didn't have anything worth taking.

-

The bookstore loomed over them.

"Jeez, there are so many," Jou groaned. "It's like we're back to square one. What kind of books does she even like, anyway?"

"Um, smart books," Honda suggested.

"But would we know one if we saw one?"

Yugi laughed. "It's okay! We know some other things she likes, right?"

"So we can find books about those things, and it's two birds with one stone," Jou realized. "You're a genius!"

"Okay," Honda said. "Then let's split up. I'll cover dance. Yugi, you take clothes, and Jou…"

Jou was already in the romance section. "Haha, guys, you'll never believe what _this_ one's about!" he called across the store.

"Jou, we're looking for something she'll actually _read_!"

Honda nudged Yugi. "Yuug, is that your cell ringing?"

"Oh!" Yugi pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. A little Kuriboh charm jingled as he flipped the phone open. "Hello? …Oh, Anzu, I was _just_ thinking about you!"

A cashier glared at Yugi. He grinned apologetically and backed out of the store.

And so, with their cherubic multi-hued conscience absent from sight…

"Honda, Honda! I thought it couldn't get any worse than the three-headed, four-breasted alien, but look! Look at _this_!"

"Oh my God, and she's wearing a _tutu_! Hey, wait a sec-"

"Who _else_ do we know who likes tutus?"

In that moment, Jou and Honda could have been mistaken for brothers: they had cultivated the same impish grin.

"It's a book," said Honda.

"It's about dance," said Jou.

"It's got girly romance and stuff."

"Wait a minute, does she _like _girly romance?"

Honda shrugged. "She likes Yuug, right?"

"Ya sold me," said Jou. "Quick, let's buy it before the kid gets back."

The cashier – _Akagi_, if his name tag was to be trusted - was a twitchy young man with bushy eyebrows. His trepidation was palpable as he watched the duo approach. Jou smacked the book down onto the counter. "We'll buy this," Jou announced.

"Um," said Akagi. He scanned the book, glanced at its cover, and quickly looked away. Twitch, twitch. "Will that be all?"

"That's it," said Honda, rummaging in his pocket. He produced a sheaf of bills, and counted through it. "Here you-"

"Honda! Jou!" Yugi cried, rushing back into the store. "Emergency!"

"Oh, damn! We've gotta go!" Honda grabbed Jou by the arm and started to pull. Jou stayed planted where he was. Akagi looked between the two, eyebrows betraying his befuddlement.

"Can't we buy it first?"

"Well, she can't read it if we end up failing to save the world," said Honda.

"You've got a point," said Jou.

"It'll be here later."

"Yeah," said Jou, looking at the cover again. "It will."

"Would you like me to h-hold onto it for you?" said Akagi, in a surprising display of initiative.

"Could you?" said Jou, surprised. "That'd be great, thanks."

Akagi took the book. "Your name?"

"Jou," said Jou. "_Super-_Jou."

Honda sighed. "Let's _go,_ hero."

-

Yugi was sitting on a bench just outside of the store, jiggling his small leg impatiently. He shot to his feet when Jou and Honda emerged. "What on Earth took you so-"

"Where are the bad guys?" interrupted Honda.

"It's not Bakura again, is it? I hate dealing with that guy."

"Are we going to Egypt?"

"Uh," said Yugi. "Oh. Oh, sorry. It's not about the world this time."

"What?" said Honda.

"_Maaaaan_," said Jou. "We coulda bought that book."

"What book?"

Honda sighed and held up his hands. "Yugi, let's talk about this emergency thing first."

"Right," said Yugi. Now that he'd been given his chance to talk, it seemed that he wasn't sure where to begin. "Um, it's… well…"

"What is it, little buddy?"

"It's Kaiba," said Yugi. "Um, Anzu told me that she was watching the news, and … um … it seems like Kaiba's been secretly developing this game for a while now." Yugi fidgeted. "Um, a dating sim. About boys in love. You know, with each other. And she said-"

Honda scratched the back of his head, nonplussed. "Dude, is that really an _emergency_?"

And then he followed Yugi's eyes – to Jou.

"That _son of a bitch_," said Jou, taking a step back. "Of course. Of _course._"

-

But, now, what was he supposed to do?

Jounouchi had ditched the gang, taken a few turns to throw them off, and was now hiding out in a bathroom stall. He figured he had about ten minutes – the mall wasn't exactly a labyrinth, and Honda was his ride home.

His first thought, his gut reaction, was to just call Kaiba up and rip him a new one. Screw tact – that son of a bitch!

If he'd learned one thing from Yugi, though, it was to think about the next turn, too. What would Kaiba do? Now that Jou's previous unease had been proven justified, he had no way of knowing Kaiba wouldn't just hang up on him. After all, now that the secret was out, there was no reason to keep Jou happy.

The cell phone in Jou's lap rang. He drew a sharp breath – but, no, they'd finally figured out that Jou had snagged Yugi's cell phone before he ran off. _Honda, _the tiny screen read. He fumbled with the buttons.

_Busy tone sent._

"What should I do?" Jou said quietly.

-

"So, wait, what's going on?" Honda demanded, snapping his phone shut. "Why isn't Jou picking up?"

Yugi kept walking, his brightly colored head bobbing through the crowd. "We've got to find him! Before he does anything stupid!"

"Why would he? What's going _on?_"

"Anzu says that Jou and Kai-" Yugi paused, glanced warily around, and rephrased. "She says that Jou and _our friend_ were seeing each other. And that's where Jou's been going every week, to his place."

"That's crazy! Wouldn't he have _told_ us?"

Yugi looked back at Honda and raised a tiny eyebrow.

"…Okay, I guess not," Honda admitted.

Yugi continued. "So we've got to find Jou before he hurts you-know-who or himself, or gets mobbed by the media. Or all three. Anzu's on her way, by the way."

"All right," said Honda. "Would it be quicker if we split up?"

"Usually it would, but I don't have my cell phone," Yugi said sadly.

Honda frowned. Sure, the mall wasn't exactly a labyrinth, but Jou still had plenty of places to hide before he snuck out.

Wait.

"Hang on," Honda said. "Jou can't go anywhere. I got him here, remember?"

Yugi perked up a bit. "Right!"

"So… where would he be?"

They passed by a narrow hallway and rounded the corner. Yugi frowned, deep in thought. "Well, I guess the most obvious place would be… the bathroom?"

"Right. So that's out. What's the next thing he'd think we would think of?"

"Probably the toy and game shops," Yugi said. "And the arcade."

"Which leaves…"

Honda and Yugi looked at each other.

"The bookstore! He doubled back!"

"Son of a bitch," Honda grumbled, grabbing Yugi by the arm and pulling him back the way they'd come.

-

Seto Kaiba sat silently on the couch next to his brother. He fingered the cell phone in his hand as Mokuba turned off the television.

"Seto? Are you okay?"

Kaiba flipped the phone open, and then closed it again.

"I'm… fine."


End file.
